Comments Thread For: Dubois Praises Ruiz, Feels Critics Being Way Too Hard on Joshua

[MickG]

Great post - here is someone bringing something NEW to the discussion - good on you.

For me he just seemed 'off' and if I have to put my finger on why I suppose the best word is he looked tentative. From the beginning actually but definitely after the first KD.

If he was suffering temporary cognitive impairment (or dementia) then his reaction time would surely fall by a very significant percentage and that is kryptonite for any sports person but especially a fighter.

I don't know if he threw even one uppercut which is the classic punch to deter a shorter boxer who is swarming you aggressively. But if he couldn't think correctly then no wonder he didn't.

Yeah I agree he seemed off before entering the ring, and that probably played a part in him getting caught in the first place (along with Ruiz' awesome hand speed). Cognitive impairment can have very unpredictable and varying symptoms. In someone of "normal" activity levels you would likely see the impact clearly in a physical / motor control sense however, and it may seem counter intuitive, in a high performance athlete, muscle memory can overcome cognitive impairment to an extent that it's not as obvious, depending on the extent of the damage of course. Add to that you have someone who has been conditioning his body for fighting for such a long time. Joshua's (and most boxers') base survival instinct isn't fight or flight, it's fight or fight, combine that with deep seeded muscle memory and the body will keep going even after you've mentally switched off. Joshua got to the 7th by reverting to type and utilising a slow long jab, which Ruiz didn't seem too eager to try get past. Once it went back in the phone box Joshua was done.
As you pointed out even a small reduction in movement would be lethal to someone at this level, I think he did lose a certain amount of movement / reflex, but it only became apparent once Ruiz upped the tempo on the inside ✌️

*Edit - why not tweet AJ or one of his team with that info?*AJ has a top notch medical team on hand, I'm sure they picked it up on review. Plus med teams at that level don't appreciate unsolicited outside advice 😉

[MickG]

That'd be a T-junction?

LOL 😂😂👌 observation

[doom_specialist]

The assessment of early Wlad was 'lets his hands go too much and lacks stamina, dubious chin'.

Sounds familiar. Joshua not Wlad though, but he needs the sort of team Wlad had back then to get him through it, plus some quality time with Wlad himself to determine what he needs internally. He's at a crossroads, Wlad one way, Bruno the other.

Agree. I personally feel that Joshua doesn't take advantage of his physical advantages at all. He'd be a monster if he could fight tall, behind a jab, and Klitschko could definitely help him in that department. I personally think his lungs are the biggest problem though. He gets tired way too fast. Should probably consider losing some muscle too.