‘Anthony Joshua is ruined from Ruiz fight’ – says Tim Bradley

By Boxing News - 10/18/2021 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: Tim Bradley believes that Anthony Joshua was ruined from his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, and he’s now gunshy for fear of getting hurt.

Joshua is arguably a mental shell of the fighter he once was. He looked like a doomed man heading towards inevitable defeat going into his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk next year.

After watching Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) lose to Usyk last September, Bradley says he saw a fighter that seems “comfortable” in losing.

Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) took Joshua to school, making him look bad in winning a conclusive 12 round unanimous decision on September 25th in front of 60,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in North London.

Going into that bout, the 6’6″, 240-lb Joshua was expected to crush Usyk with his superior size and strength.

Instead, we saw Usyk stunning Joshua in the first round with two laser-guided left hands to the head. From there, it was a masterclass by Usyk, who exposed Joshua even worse than Ruiz did.

The hunger Joshua once had is GONE at this point; whether that is the result of AJ’s estimated $80 million net worth or knowing that he has a rematch clause is unknown.

It might be impossible for Joshua to return to the fighter that he once was two years ago before Ruiz Jr knocked him out in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Joshua is ruined from Ruiz fight says, Bradley

“It just seems like he’s comfortable with losing a fight,” said Bradley to FightHype about Joshua. “I think in the [Andy] Ruiz fight that ruined him.

Image: 'Anthony Joshua is ruined from Ruiz fight' - says Tim Bradley

“I think that ruined his confidence, and I think he’s also scared to get hit. He’s gunshy, and he doesn’t want to throw. That’s why you didn’t see him throw,” said Bradley in analyzing Joshua and not liking what he sees.

It’s believed that Joshua is hunting for a new trainer to take over the job to rebuild him for a rematch with Usyk. Joshua was seen at a couple of gyms in the U.S this weekend, which could lead to him getting a new coach.

If Joshua does give his current trainer Rob McCracken his walking papers, it’s still not a given that a new coach will be able to speedily fix all the flaws in his game in time for his rematch with Usyk next March.

Some areas are beyond fixing with Joshua, starting with his weak punch resistance. At Top Rank promoter Bob Arum puts it, Joshua is “chinny,” and he doesn’t believe he can beat Usyk in a rematch.

Joshua’s weak chin will remain regardless of who takes over the job as his trainer. Also, the stamina problems that we’ve seen from Joshua will, of course, stay there, stubbornly resistant to change.

AJ’s poor stamina is unfixable

When you get a fighter with a Primo Carnera type of physique like Joshua, stamina will always be a problem. It doesn’t matter who works Joshua’s corner; he’s ALWAYS going to be plagued by his weak chin and his stamina problems.

The best thing that a new trainer can do for Joshua is to try and encourage him to go all out early, shooting for a knockout in the rematch with Usyk. It’s got to be early for Joshua because by the ninth round, he’ll be exhausted and easy pickings for Usyk.

“Usyk’s a small heavyweight, but he does have some snap on his shots, but he’s [Joshua] the bigger guy,” said Bradley. “He needs to act like he’s the bigger guy. It’s almost like he’s a big guy, but he has a small guy mentality.”

We saw how Joshua was riddled to pieces by Usyk in the 12th round when he tried to act like “the bigger guy.” It was disastrous. Given what happened last time, we could see Joshua massacred by Usyk if he comes out guns blazing in the rematch next March.