Does Joshua Need A New Trainer? Who If So?

[Eff Pandas]

One of the UK podcasts I listen to has been dogging McCracken since I started listening to it & really went off on him in the wake of this loss.

Does Joshua need to get a more experienced world class trainer to work on some of the holes in his game to give him a chance to get back to where he was?

And if so who do you think would be a good fit to fix Joshua's deficiencies & give him the best shot at beating Ruiz in a rematch & perhaps Wilder & Fury in the future?

[GhostofDempsey]

He definitely needs a new conditioning coach. His stamina has always been a problem, and against Ruiz he looked like he just ran a marathon by round 4. He is lacking basic fundamentals--when he was knocked down first time he needed to clinch and/or put the earmuffs on and do a Clottey for a few rounds to recover.

Buddy McGirt comes to mind as a good fit for him, I would also suggest any of the proven coaches out there like Shields, Richardson, Atlas, Diaz, Roach, Hunter--anyone would be an improvement. He should consider Alex Ariza for his conditioning.

[ShaneMosleySr]

Teddy Atlas because Joshua is too nice and someone in the corner needs to get him pissed and motivated.

[New England]

i don't know if it's going to help. trainers don't mean all that much after 10-12 weeks. t hey really don't. joshua learned how to box over 10+ years, and all of that muscle memory isn't going anywhere right away.


rob mcracken isn't a household name here, but i remember his work with carl froch well and he seemed like avery solid cornerman. carl froch had a fantastic career, all things considered. there aren't as many world class trainers in england as there are around here. i really don't see an immediate need unless it's something in joshua's head that will be a placebo more than anything else.

no cornerman was going to be able to snap joshua back into reality. he took a big shot and he didn't recover. you've either got it into you to jab, hold, get desperate and fire back, do what you must; or you don't. joshua might not have it. remember, he took almost half the fight to look "normal" against 41 year old klitschko.

[New England]

He definitely needs a new conditioning coach. His stamina has always been a problem, and against Ruiz he looked like he just ran a marathon by round 4. He is lacking basic fundamentals--when he was knocked down first time he needed to clinch and/or put the earmuffs on and do a Clottey for a few rounds to recover.

Buddy McGirt comes to mind as a good fit for him, I would also suggest any of the proven coaches out there like Shields, Richardson, Atlas, Diaz, Roach, Hunter--anyone would be an improvement. He should consider Alex Ariza for his conditioning.

he lives in england, i doubt seriously that any of those guys are candidates.


i also think his conditioning is fine. look at him. most of the HW his size can't run, joshua runs like a deer. he's super athletic for a 245 lb man. he's not even built up all that much, that's just how he was born.

his issue is pacing. tyson fury looks like he was born in a boxng ring. it's not a big deal to him to move like that. joshua's muscle bound and he's got to learn how to keep his body operating economically.

joshua's body isn't going anywhere. news flash. i don't care who conditions him, that body is a gift from god and he's not losiing 20 lbs off of it. he needs to learn how to use it properly, and he can.

getting tired? believe me, your opponent will catch up in his tiredness when you start leaning your 6'6", 250 lb body on him. don't sell yoursefl out, tax your opponent. so learn how to do it! that's basic stuff and without a doubt something rob mcracken will be able to teach him.

[sunny31]

I honestly would go with Wlad if he was open to it, with maybe Banks as the second. I think him getting himself holed away in Austria and getting that knowledge will be his best move, he doesn't need to completely change, just needs to maybe tweak his conditioning, needs to learn a few defensive tricks and manage his pacing

[sparda77]

He needs to get rid of all those muscles, it slows him down and just makes him tire faster

[Santa_]

Abel Sanchez so he can learn the Mexican Style.

[NaijaD]

He needs someone to teach him how to fight tall... he doesn’t jab enough and he gives up his height and reach too easily.

A world class big man like Wlad would have made Ruiz work a lot harder and fed him a boat load of stiff jabs and the occasional thudding right hand. That would wear on the smaller man mentally aswell as physically. Similar to how Lewis handled Tua.

Joshua also needs to learn to clinch when in close, right how his instinct is to freeze up when under fire.

He lacks the things that made big men so effective in the past, it’s not an advantage to be 6’6 with an 82 reach if you fight the way AJ does most times.

6 months isn’t enough to fix all that, but a new trainer is a promising start.

[4truth]

I honestly would go with Wlad if he was open to it, with maybe Banks as the second. I think him getting himself holed away in Austria and getting that knowledge will be his best move, he doesn't need to completely change, just needs to maybe tweak his conditioning, needs to learn a few defensive tricks and manage his pacing

Yeah, my first thought was Banks. I hadn't even thought of Wlad because I don't know if he has the mentality to be a teacher. Not saying he's ****** but it takes a certain mindset, I think, to teach.