Did AJ look impressive tonight?

[asgarth]

I wasnt impressed. Seemed hesitant a lot of times.
Allowed Pulev to get into rhythm in the midrounds and be first with his punches.
Didnt really pushed the pace to force the old fighter to tire out for a natural late ko.

[moochi]

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.

yeah about about 6 years ago and Wlad also got rocked by Pulev.

I think watching the fight live, you were thinking AJ could do more ...

in review of the result, he never got hurt, barely hit, he dominated most rounds, dropped Pulev 4 times and got the KO victory - you would think that's a pretty good showing.

[abracada]

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.

AJ wanted to punish pulev and humiliate him, he achieved both

[boliodogs]

he dd seem too cautious,

[Boxinghype]

Joshua was ok, better than vs Ruiz... but hard to gauge because Pulev totally blows.. he is slow footed, slow hands, not great technique, not great power... not great at anything except kissing reporters... I honestly had not seen this dude fight since the Klitchko fight... and I thought he ****** then... now he is also old.. tbh... I would've have rather seen Ruiz Joshua 3...

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

AJ wanted to punish pulev and humiliate him, he achieved both

I don’t think he humiliated him whatsoever, Pulev lasted well longer than expected for most. It was very Wlad-esque, safety first and waiting for your opponent to be absolutely done before going in for the kill. Even Wlad had a prime Pulev out of there in 5 though, I feel like AJ should have done the same but just didn’t really look to finish him following the third round.

[_Rexy_]

AJ wanted to punish pulev and humiliate him, he achieved both

Did he? Pulev was neither punished nor humiliated. He was just stopped. I'd say it was what was supposed to happen, but Joshua didn't look nearly as good as he was supposed to look. IMO it was comparable to Davis/Gamboa in that regard.

[RJJ-94-02=GOAT]

Did he? Pulev was neither punished nor humiliated. He was just stopped. I'd say it was what was supposed to happen, but Joshua didn't look nearly as good as he was supposed to look. IMO it was comparable to Davis/Gamboa in that regard.

That’s a good comparison actually man, maybe not as bad as Pulev wasn’t physically injured but I felt similar watching both.

[Guest]

Of course, he looked impressive.

Any fighter in the world would take knocking a guy down four times and finishing him while taking very little punishment in a championship fight. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

The results were definitely impressive.

[Vinnykin]

Joshua looks like a fighter that is still learning to me.

He managed to overachieve early and is still learning, and has that mindset to improve and try different things.

He is mentally damaged at this point though, and is far too tentative when he has openings.......... Klitschko was the same after getting sparked early in his career and refined his style. Joshua is doing the same and I am actually impressed with his ability to move laterally and his distance control, jab, ring IQ etc

The things Joshua fans used to criticise me for when I highlighted those attributes in Fury 4 years ago.