Via Charles Brun: Gareth A. Davies says Anthony Joshua must have a “highlight reel” knockout against Jermaine Franklin on April 1 to regain the “killer spirit” he somehow lost after being beaten by Oleksandr Usyk hit twice in a row in the last two years.
Unfortunately, Joshua has become positive gunhy, seemed afraid to let go, still shaken by the haunting memory of his brutal knockout defeat before Andy Ruiz Jr. on June 1, 2019.
While Joshua has the offensive arsenal to score a knockout goal, his fragile mind is still trying to understand the loss that should have never happened to the most unlikely conqueror, Andy Ruiz Jr.
Shocked AJ case
Joshua is the equivalent of a veteran still reminiscing about what he saw in battle. As if AJ had PTSD from what he went through in his first battle with Ruiz and seems to still be shocked.
The constant shots that Ruiz knocked out Joshua that night had a lasting effect on him, which is said to be irreversible.
When a person experiences a terrible life event, they tend to avoid experiencing it again. If they almost drown, then they won’t go near the water.
Joshua was caught by a counterattack from Ruiz as he was in a fierce fight, for the knockout. That experience left an imprint on Joshua’s mind, making him hesitate to attack again for fear of being caught in the same way.
If you look at Joshua’s three fights since he lost to Ruiz, he’s very defensive and nothing like the boxer he’s ever shown before that competition. Unfortunately, it’s too late to bring Joshua back to the boxer he used to be because he can’t get over the memory of that night in New York.
Joshua needs an outstanding knock-out
“He had 12 consecutive world titles. He needs back to that knockout mentality,” Gareth A. Davies said to boxing society about Anthony Joshua. “That’s what he had to do against Franklin.
“He couldn’t sit behind his stab for 12 rounds, but if he knocks him out early, he’s damned if he knocks him out early. He will be cursed if he goes 12 laps.
“I think he needs a spectacular performance [knockout]. He needs optics to come back the big, bruised killer that he is. Ditto is likely to have a fight with Dillian Whyte in the summer at a stadium, but he Need to highlight remove virus reel by Jermaine Franklin,” Davies said.
Joshua needs to be the killer he used to be, but that doesn’t look promising. If he was going to go back to the warrior he used to be, he would have already done so.
Joshua looks mentally unfit to be sent back to the front lines with the way he looks inside the ring. At this point, AJ was the bait for his opponents to rush in and tear the insides of the ring, and it was felt that his promoter Eddie Hearn suspected that it was all over. for his top earning boxer.
“Yes, you can criticize [of Franklin]. What he is, 27, 29 worlds, but he played really well against Dillian Whyte in November. I was there.
“It was a close fight. Dillian just hid that fight. I’m not too critical of it [Joshua fighting Franklin]. You can choose from a variety of other opponents.
“Joshua has had two losses in two years. He had a very tough opponent [Oleksandr Usyk]. He looks better the second time around.
“I was directly out there, covering it, but he just got back to that winning column. But for me, that’s how he wins, and he needs to win spectacularly,” Davies said of Joshua.
