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Anthony Joshua has a lot of flaws as a fighter but his inability to feint and punch while using lateral movement in my opinion was really what hurt him the most in this fight.
Andy Ruiz is slow on his feet but he's got fast hands. So what does Andy Ruiz do to make the most of his talent. He pressures forward behind a strong jab and every time you throw a punch at him whether it's a jab, a 1-2 or any other combination, Andy Ruiz will throw a punch or punches at the exact same time. If he waits for you to complete your punch or combination of punches and then throw a punch, it's too late, he's slow on his feet and his arms are short, but when he does throw at the same time when you do, now you're in his range and he's got the faster hands.
There are a few techniques you can use when facing such a fighter, however not all techniques work for all fighters. In Joshua's case, almost every time he threw a 1-2 or a jab Andy was countering throwing punches at the same time and it looked like Joshua wasn't used to it. Joshua could've feinted on the jab and on the 1-2 but he didn't. What does a good feint do? It draws your opponent counters while you're still in a good position to defend. I think I saw him try to use a feint in round 2 but the technique was so bad that he couldn't sell it and if you can't do it in the gym you will never be able to do in a fight.
Ok, he can't feint therefore he can't use it in the fight until he works on this skill in the gym. What's the next thing he could do for a guy his size. When he throws the jab he could circle to his left. That's basic and it's taught in most boxing gyms. You move forward and to your left or just to your left while throwing your jab. What it does is it creates an angle where your head is off the center line and you are further away from the jab, the left hook and the right hand that your opponent might try to use to counter you. Some of you might say, yes, but he'll be walking into Ruiz's straight right hand when he circles to his left. Well no, because when you move to your left, your opponent cannot throw a good straight right unless he moves his feet in good position first and we already know that Ruiz has slow feet. Others could say, well, Ruiz could throw a looping right hand or a right hook and AJ would be walking straight into it. Remember, Andy Ruiz got short arms and throwing a hook when somebody is moving away from you, you fall even shorter with your punches.
So two very basic things that AJ didn't do and his corner didn't ask him to do, shows me that they haven't worked on feinting and throwing punches while moving laterally.
Andy Ruiz is slow on his feet but he's got fast hands. So what does Andy Ruiz do to make the most of his talent. He pressures forward behind a strong jab and every time you throw a punch at him whether it's a jab, a 1-2 or any other combination, Andy Ruiz will throw a punch or punches at the exact same time. If he waits for you to complete your punch or combination of punches and then throw a punch, it's too late, he's slow on his feet and his arms are short, but when he does throw at the same time when you do, now you're in his range and he's got the faster hands.
There are a few techniques you can use when facing such a fighter, however not all techniques work for all fighters. In Joshua's case, almost every time he threw a 1-2 or a jab Andy was countering throwing punches at the same time and it looked like Joshua wasn't used to it. Joshua could've feinted on the jab and on the 1-2 but he didn't. What does a good feint do? It draws your opponent counters while you're still in a good position to defend. I think I saw him try to use a feint in round 2 but the technique was so bad that he couldn't sell it and if you can't do it in the gym you will never be able to do in a fight.
Ok, he can't feint therefore he can't use it in the fight until he works on this skill in the gym. What's the next thing he could do for a guy his size. When he throws the jab he could circle to his left. That's basic and it's taught in most boxing gyms. You move forward and to your left or just to your left while throwing your jab. What it does is it creates an angle where your head is off the center line and you are further away from the jab, the left hook and the right hand that your opponent might try to use to counter you. Some of you might say, yes, but he'll be walking into Ruiz's straight right hand when he circles to his left. Well no, because when you move to your left, your opponent cannot throw a good straight right unless he moves his feet in good position first and we already know that Ruiz has slow feet. Others could say, well, Ruiz could throw a looping right hand or a right hook and AJ would be walking straight into it. Remember, Andy Ruiz got short arms and throwing a hook when somebody is moving away from you, you fall even shorter with your punches.
So two very basic things that AJ didn't do and his corner didn't ask him to do, shows me that they haven't worked on feinting and throwing punches while moving laterally.
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