Media AJ sounds fired up!

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Some of you guys seem to be counting AJ out. He's still the bigger, stronger man, he just needs to fight like the big man this time. Of course now he recognizes that he should've attempted to impose his size and strength advantages because hindsight is 20/20.

Let's look at it from another perspective. AJ essentially did everything wrong and still won 3 or 4 rounds. He brought the wrong gameplan entirely and hardly even attempted to neutralize Usyk's southpaw tactics (no lead foot battle at all and very little work done in the lead hand battle on AJ's behalf). It stands to reason that, with the proper gameplan and a much better understanding of what he should've been doing to neutralize those tactics, he'd likely have far more success in the rematch.

 

[JSN]

The likes of Joshua or Fury would still have problems beating an "orthodox" version of Usyk imo... Focusing on the "southpaw" element is not seeing the forest for the trees.
1 - Usyk's cardio is absurd. (it's a weapon in itself).
2 - His workrate (see above)... It's downright discouraging. Worst of all, he often seems fresh even during championship rounds. You get the feeling he could easily last 15 or 20 rounds.
3 - His footwork. As far as the HW divison is concerned, not even Fury can be compared. Usyk's footwork is on a whole different level.
4 - Boxing IQ. He's not dependant on a "Plan A", "Plan B" etc... He adapts, constantly looks for patterns, changes his gameplan during the fight.
5 - His speed. He used to be faster as a cruiser, but he's still fast enough to also have an advantage against all big HW.

The only question is his chin. Most people thought he wouldn't be able to take a HW punch.... But so far, so good. He seems to handle it well, hard to tell how good his chin really is. But he's never been KOed in his entire career. And i don't think he ever was knocked down either..

No one is unbeatable of course, but the point is that Usyk is more than just a talented southpaw. The fact that he also happens to be a southpaw is just the icing on the cake. Joshua will have to outsmart him, or somehow find a way to K.O Usyk in the early rounds, or maybe constantly clinch, lean on him. But what works on the likes of Steve Cunningham, Povetkin, (smaller HWs) may not work against Usyk. Chisora tried to bully Usyk as much as possible, stalked him, tried to lean on him etc...But he ended up depleting his energy.

That’s a very nice analysis. I disagree on one point though- Joshua can’t outsmart Usyk any more than you or I could outrun Usain Bolt.

What he can do is maximize his own advantages in power, brawn, height and reach. He realistically needs to take some risks and really put in work. Lots of straight punches to the body where Usyk is easier to hit, and roll the dice with some power combos here and there. Joshua may not be a great reactionary fighter, but he a quite good at throwing fluid and powerful tekken combos.

 

[Pboxingfan123]

Usyk is an absolute Boxing genius. Going in there reckless and for the KO might not result well for AJ but will make for a very very exciting fight!!!!!

 

[Old Cat]

Dang. You boys are harsh.

I appreciate him being willing to make the changes necessary to take back his titles. See seems self aware to me. My take is, he is acknowledging he should have approached the Usyk fight differently. It sounds like to me he just doesn’t understand what the “differently” is, and he is willing to ask and sit under a new coach to find the answer.

I think you Brits have two treasures at heavyweight.

 

[WklySportsMemes]

Some of you guys seem to be counting AJ out. He's still the bigger, stronger man, he just needs to fight like the big man this time. Of course now he recognizes that he should've attempted to impose his size and strength advantages because hindsight is 20/20.

Let's look at it from another perspective. AJ essentially did everything wrong and still won 3 or 4 rounds. He brought the wrong gameplan entirely and hardly even attempted to neutralize Usyk's southpaw tactics (no lead foot battle at all and very little work done in the lead hand battle on AJ's behalf). It stands to reason that, with the proper gameplan and a much better understanding of what he should've been doing to neutralize those tactics, he'd likely have far more success in the rematch.

He has a chance if he fights like a dog. Outpointing Usyk will do him no favors. Way too conservative. He has it in him though

 

[Roids]

The problem is fighting aggressive is usually not just about game plan its about mentality and psychology which can be very hard to change which is why im very skeptical.

 

[Cariñito]

Dang. You boys are harsh.

I appreciate him being willing to make the changes necessary to take back his titles. See seems self aware to me. My take is, he is acknowledging he should have approached the Usyk fight differently. It sounds like to me he just doesn’t understand what the “differently” is, and he is willing to ask and sit under a new coach to find the answer.

I think you Brits have two treasures at heavyweight.

Hes got 6 months. I think with a little more "Chisora" added on to his boxing, it could be a different fight.

 

[MotorCityCobra]

Boxing is more nuanced then hey you're bigger and stronger go overwhelm him.

If he fought more aggro in that fight he would've been knocked out.

 

[PhilMcCavity]

Sounds unauthentic and desperate... He's just trying to save what can be saved. But the reality is that's he's done... Usyk probably stops him in the rematch.

Everything about him is so phony.

He loves attention but hates fighting. Tough life.

 

[Tayski]

he's reading that off a cue card, and it shows, he even puts on a fake accent at one point

Yeah either that or he learnt that mini speech by heart prior to the interview.

 

[Jonny Ninja]

The reason I thought AJ was going to win the first time was because of his size and strength but he didn't use it. He stood at a bit of a range and tried to out box him and never really adjusted when it wasn't working. So I would say he's at least got the right idea but he needs someone to show him how to use it properly.

Most people seemed to write AJ off when he lost to Ruiz and were even saying he was done but he came back so I don't want to do that here and do think he could pull it off. But Usyk is a very different fighter than Ruiz and AJ might not be able to figure him out.

i favoured Joshua in the Ruiz rematch, even if he came in with the same gane plan. He got sloppy and caught as he thought Ruiz was about to be finished. He didn’t realise how good his chin was, or how quick his hands are

this is completely different. He was soundly outboxed. And though he’s shown he can adapt, the only change was going back to his style in the Amis. He will have to completely change to his whole style. Something he’s very unlikely to be able to do in a few short months. He’s a quick learner, but I think this is beating him

 

[Jonny Ninja]

He loves attention but hates fighting. Tough life.

lol what laughable nonsense.

if he hated fighting he would’ve retired long ago? He’s already set for life and has achieved far more than most boxers can ever dream of. You can’t be an elite level fighter if you’re scared of being hit. He’s not fuckin Audrey Harrison

 

[Dana's Moonface]

Fuck being fake humble is what he meant

Media/matchroom puppett starting to shed his phony skin

If he comes to war? He gets blown out in the rematch, the guy is afraid to get hit

 

[SalvadorAllende]

LOL at boxing and the eternal rematches.

 

[Boxiana]

Can you elaborate on what is so obviously fake about the chess game?

His knight placement seems odd, and black development is lacking, other than that all seems to check out.

It’s fake unless you are a retard making random moves, and not some guy claiming to be playing chess.

 

[deucesarewild]

Ahead of his immediate rematch with Usyk. He knows what tactics he'll have to employ and that it'll require a completely different mentality. Whether he can do it or not, who knows? He won't be favored in the rematch but he will be a very live dog with the proper strategy this time around. If he isn't fully prepared to go out on his shield then he'll lose again. He'll have to roll the dice here. It's good that he realizes his back is up against the wall and that he must step out of his comfort zone.

“I’m done with f***ing losing. I’m done with trying to learn the sweet science. He [Usyk] might get thrown on the floor in the next fight because this is war,” Joshua said of Usyk.

“It’s just straight war, I’m annoyed. I’m boiling up even speaking about it – it’s that passion to win. Stay hungry, f*** being humble,” said Joshua.

He also spoke in general about how difficult it is to fight southpaws. He acknowledged that Usyk's southpaw tactics were tricky to deal with (obviously!) and mentioned that another southpaw, Wallin, gave Fury some real problems of his own. While the sample size to draw from is small neither Fury nor AJ are all that competent against southpaws. I think, initially, most of us assumed that they'd be roughly as effective against lefties as they are with orthodox opponents but that hasn't been the case. To Fury's credit he can switch hit but that's no substitute for knowing how to fight them conventionally. Their positional awareness against southpaws is poor, and in AJ's case, really poor.

In AJ's latest interview he had a message for Usyk (timestamped below). No more Mr. Nice Englishman. Mean & motivated AJ, the Nigerian Express, is coming! That's wassup!

You can be hungry AND humble.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Boxing is more nuanced then hey you're bigger and stronger go overwhelm him.

If he fought more aggro in that fight he would've been knocked out.

Right. I don't think anyone is saying that AJ should just recklessly go balls to the wall and attempt to bulldoze him. He'll be more methodical than that and attempt to cut the ring, work the body consistently to break Usyk down and take his legs, and when the gap is closed he'll need to put his size & strength advantages to use on the inside. Usyk's inside game is practically nonexistent. He's never had to develop it because he's such a good out-boxer/boxer-mover.

AJ clearly isn't Chisora so it's realistically necessary that his pressure be educated, intelligent aggression. High guard up, chin tucked tight, knees bent slightly, subtle head movement, angularly creeping toward Usyk with small half-steps, and as soon as he enters into range he needs to bite down hard on his mouthguard. He's not confident in his chin so this is what he'll want to do to help take shots better. Additionally, he'll come in heavier than last time so this may also help him take shots slightly better. When pressing forward he'll need to avoid Usyk's best weapon, his left hand, and he should throw hooks to the body to cut off Usyk's escape routes to try and pin him down long enough to get off heavy shots.

If he stuns Usyk, which he already did several times in the first fight, then he can't afford to let him off the hook like last time. He needs to follow-up but with defensive responsibility. If he uses the next 4-5 months working his pressure fighting game then he should be able to find real success with a similar strategy.

 

[jeff7b9]

It’s fake unless you are a retard making random moves, and not some guy claiming to be playing chess.

That doesn't answer the question.

What about the chess board is indicative of it being fake?

Do you understand the question?
Or is explaining the basis of your accusation beyond the scope of your abilities?

 

[bangalangin]

Out of interest I looked up the people AJ mentions as his inspiration in that monologue, the hustlers; all of them are drug dealers and either still in prison or dead, 2 of the 5 turned informant. Seems to me he's losing the plot name checking these drug pushers, odd behaviour but maybe he can use that negative aggressive energy to his benefit. AJ's only hope for the rematch is to work to the max on his gas tank so he can go gangsta destroyer mode when he gets the opportunity, without emptying his tank completely. Will be a fun rematch for sure.

 

[Olenac12]

Here he is prentending to play chess (black pieces of course), though anybody with even a rudimentary understanding of the game will see this is not a real game, but a very odd setup with pieces in totally unrealistic positions.

He's a fake motherfucker, top to bottom.

View attachment 887151

Labron James would be proud,