Did AJ look impressive tonight?

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

Showed some decent skills and eventually got the finish, but he should have had Pulev out of there in 3-4 rounds tbh. Pulev looked there for the taking but AJ seemed far too hesitant to go in and finish him. Does he not trust his gas tank? Does he worry about getting caught like he did vs Ruiz? I feel like AJ has lost his finishing instinct following the Ruiz loss.

[*TonyMontana*]

Am I the only one who thinks losing rounds and getting backed up by pulev is really really bad

I thought Joshua looked like Conor McGregor the way he kept jumping in with both hands in a Thai boxing stance

He didn't look right at all and didn't take a lot of openings

Wlad took this guy out in 2 rounds years ago

Pulev did well tonight I thought

[Toffee]

Am I the only one who thinks losing rounds and getting backed up by pulev is really really bad

I thought Joshua looked like Conor McGregor the way he kept jumping in with both hands in a Thai boxing stance

He didn't look right at all and didn't take a lot of openings

Wlad took this guy out in 2 rounds years ago

Pulev did well tonight I thought

I thought Joshua won nearly every round.. And to be fair, the fight should have been stopped in 3. I don't know when turning your back on a fight became a knockdown rather than a stoppage.

Wlad took 5, by the way.

[Toffee]

Showed some decent skills and eventually got the finish, but he should have had Pulev out of there in 3-4 rounds tbh. Pulev looked there for the taking but AJ seemed far too hesitant to go in and finish him. Does he not trust his gas tank? Does he worry about getting caught like he did vs Ruiz? I feel like AJ has lost his finishing instinct following the Ruiz loss.

Hesitant or patient? Maybe a bit of both.

Movement was better. He made Pulev miss plenty. Maybe he's getting close to his ideal boxer/puncher weight and physique.

[deathofaclown]

Not really

Good finish but Pulev was a 39 year old that hadn’t really fought a top fighter in 6 years since he got flattened by Wlad, in better fashion than AJ did it too.

AJ got the job done and finished him well but looked as basic as ever mostly.

Even when he’s trying new things, you can see it lacks fluidity and isn’t natural. He’s going to have real problems when he faces someone with better movement and reach.

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

Hesitant or patient? Maybe a bit of both.

Movement was better. He made Pulev miss plenty. Maybe he's getting close to his ideal boxer/puncher weight and physique.

Patient to an extent, I can see what you mean but I do feel there was no need to be patient as Pulev was absolutely finished after round 3. He appeared very hesitant to jump on Pulev and finish him.

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

Am I the only one who thinks losing rounds and getting backed up by pulev is really really bad

I thought Joshua looked like Conor McGregor the way he kept jumping in with both hands in a Thai boxing stance

He didn't look right at all and didn't take a lot of openings

Wlad took this guy out in 2 rounds years ago

Pulev did well tonight I thought

I don’t think he looked that bad but I do think he looked a bit off. AJ is usually a good finisher but he lacked finishing instinct tonight.

[STREET CLEANER]

Not an impressive performance but he finished a fighter of that caliber as he should. Looked not too good when he was trying to finish him but looked better when he was jabbing.

Pulev apparently really prepared but is limited and showed nothing new.

[Chinned]

Yeah he was good. Clearly a level or 2 ahead.

Not much more to say though really. Pulev is good but not 'great'. AJ got the job done and finished well.

[Zelda]

I said that before the fight that AJ can KO Pulev in 1-2 rounds and I think he should have done it. That would have been a statement. Letting Pulev go this far was not impressive at all. The only explanation is if Joshua wanted it and that could be for 2 reasons:
- firstly, to make it look like Pulev was some sort of competition and he wasn't fighting a bum.
- secondly, and more importantly, to get in some rounds after a year-long lay-off.