By Jake Tiernan: Anthony Joshua sounds like he has his old, aggressive mindset back from 10+ years ago, talking about breaking bones of his opponents to score knockouts.
The former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) says his new trainer Derrick James has improved him by teaching him the “fundamentals” of the game.
More importantly, James has made Joshua more aggressive, bringing him back to the fighter he was when he first turned pro in 2013.
Being around James and a killer like Errol Spence seems to have rubbed off on Joshua, awakening the mindset that he once had many years ago.
Derrick has brought back the old aggressive side of Joshua, which has been missing for almost a decade. For the most part, AJ stopped being his war-like self after his battle against Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, which made him doubt himself and fight cautiously.
That style did not suit Joshua, as it gave his opponents more time to land their shots and wear him down.
Joshua has the perfect opponent to test his old fighting style on when he faces the 35-year-old Dillian Whyte on August 12th at the O2. Whyte can still punch and is like a rusty old gun, but his punch resistance has disappeared since being dropped by Oscar Rivas in 2019.
If the old Joshua has truly returned, he should get Whyte out of there within four to six rounds and move from there to face Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia.
“What Derrick does here, it’s not only the physical. It’s the fundamentals, and also this here [brain] gets pushed,” said Joshua to Premier Boxing Champions.
“It was s***, but I’d been through so much. I think I’ve cleared all of that off my conscience… I felt like my body had taken so much trauma. I was sparring more cautiously. Now it’s like, ‘Let’s go motherf***er,‘” said Anthony Joshua to BoxingNewsED.
Fans have heard a lot of talk from Joshua in the past, so they’re going to be skeptical about anything he says until he starts proving it.
“Yeah, you’re looking at another world champion. This is twelve round boxing,” said Joshua to Antoine Speaks. “You systematically break down an opponent where they can’t handle your output. Their heart rate is spiraling out of control.
“You break their soul; you break their ribs; you break their face. Sooner or later, they’ll give up, where they’ll get knocked out. The old AJ would start at the red zone, and I’d be smart enough to pick him apart,” said Joshua.
Notice how AJ is talking about breaking bones? This sounds like the old Joshua is back. For his sake, let’s hope so because he’s never going to outbox fighters like Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury. The only way to beat those guys is to break bones and punish them until they quit.
“Klitschko could have done it to me, but he just wasn’t aggressive enough. It’s happening, I’m in the process, I’m in Texas, and I’m grinding,” said Joshua about how he’s on his way to becoming world champion again. The time is now.
“The more I can have finer performances, the more it’ll preserve my body for the time I need a defining fight. I can dispatch my opponents much easier & smarter. Is there anything wrong with that? In my opinion, no,” said Joshua.
