AJ PUTS ON THE STYLE
Joshua’s no one-trick pony
ANTHONY JOSHUA insists he can now adapt to any style of boxing thrown at him.
The two-time world heavyweight champion won his WBA, IBF and WBO belts back with a masterful display against Andy Ruiz Jnr on Saturday in Saudia Arabia.
There were fears before the fight that Joshua wouldn’t be able to adapt to deal with the fast hands of 20-stone Ruiz Jnr.
But he kept the Mexican-American at bay with a slick display of boxing on the back foot to regain the titles Ruiz Jnr took from him in spectacular fashion in June.
Next up is likely to be IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev before a possible showdown with Oleksandr Usyk – two very different styles of fighter.
The defining night of Joshua’s career could then come against big-punching Deontay Wilder or the brilliance of Tyson Fury.
But Joshua claims nothing fazes him after proving there is more to him than meets the eye. He said: “I think I’ve showed a lot of styles.
“You can’t be one dimensional in professional boxing. It’s good to have a game plan and absorb the information given by my coaches and execute what they expect from me.
“The main people you want to please in boxing – before my parents, before anyone’s opinion – are my coaches because they spend so much time putting their knowledge into me.
“If they want me to box like Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston – it’s just down to their game plan.
“Whatever they want from me I can produce because I am a student. There’s not just one dimension to me, I’ll always bring something new to the table.”
Joshua, 30, has not only worked on adding variation to his style in the gym but also on YouTube in the build-up to the Ruiz Jnr rematch.
He added: “I watched Kirkland Laing against Roberto Duran.
“I watched a comparison of Riddick Bowe and Larry Holmes, comparing the jab. Thomas Hearns, it was really good.
“And I’ve started watching a lot of ex-trainers, I don’t just watch boxers, and you get to learn what they taught their athletes and try and align that to what you’re trying to achieve.
“If you want to be a great in today’s generation, you should do what the greats did in the past.”