By Wally Downes Jr.
ANTHONY JOSHUA might look like an Adonis but he has a huge Achilles’ heel.
Mihai Nistor, Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin all wobbled him with left hooks to the head and Andy Ruiz rendered him senseless with the sweet shot again on Saturday.
Around 25 seconds after AJ had the Mexican underdog on the deck with a perfect two-punch combo, Ruiz clipped Joshua with a left hook to the temple and he never recovered.
For the rest of the fight he was vacant, caught smiling and winking, even rubbing his nose in one bizarre moment.
The three further knockdowns he suffered en route to the humiliating defeat were far from pinpoint punches but the damage had been done.
Joshua was mumbling to trainer Rob McCracken: “Why am I feeling like this” and was unable to take on any of the wise advice his mentor was desperately offering. All from one concussive left hook, again.
With AJ often aiming for that textbook right-hand finisher, the left hook is the ideal way to catch him.
And unlike fighters such as Ruiz and Tyson Fury who have grown up in boxing gyms, AJ started in 2008 and is not a totally natural boxer and is always learning on the job.
None of us expected what happened but we had seen it all before.
Mihai Nistor – 2011
Joshua went to the European champions after just three years in the sport, an incredible feat, but was stopped in the third round.
It was a huge looping left hook that first earned him an eight count, the headguard and heavier gloves helped him stay on his feet.
But seconds later he was pinged with another left, although a frantic and rugged one, while pinned in a corner and the referee stopped the fight with AJ holding onto the ropes, in a scene just like Saturday night.
The defeat did not too much harm as Joshua became a national treasure the year after by winning Olympic gold.
But it might have laid the blueprint for future opponents to look for the shot.
Dillian Whyte – 2015
The Body Snatcher knew all about Joshua after beating him on points in a barnstorming amateur bout.
The Brixton ace was in serious trouble just two rounds into their British title clash but he suddenly clipped Joshua with a left hook.
Ringside pundit Paulie Malignaggi was shouting: “He’s hurt, Joshua is hurting” and the Englishman was barrelling backwards into the ropes, with around 75 seconds left of the round.
Malignaggi labelled him a wounded animal but he was able to claw his way back into the fight and win.
Wladimir Klitschko – 2017
AJ dropped Klitschko at the very start of round five and looked on the cusp of another sensational early win.
But the veteran caught him with a left hook that knocked all the wind from the Brit’s sails.
The Ukraine legend landed two more of the shots and Josh spent the last minute clinging on for dear life.
Ringside commentator Carl Froch said he was: “Out on his feet”, exactly like he was three years later.
The shot that dropped Joshua in the sixth was a huge right hand but it looked like the damage was done earlier.
But it didn’t matter that evening as he roared back to win an all-time classic the fans will eternally admire.
Alexander Povetkin – 2018
The veteran Russian drug cheat was already famous for his left hook and AJ and his team should have been on red alert for it.
But, with a couple of seconds left of the opening round, the short man got inside Joshua’s guard and landed with an uppercut and left hook that had the 2012 Olympic winner stumbling.
The end of the round robbed Povetkin of the chance to follow up before Joshua’s corner and cutman could assist their hero.
Joshua came out for the second round with a bloody nose, with Tony Bellew and Froch insisting it was broken by the combination.
At the end of round two, David Haye said: “I am worried about how much Joshua is letting Povetkin get in with the left hook.
But he once again turned the tide and won with a conclusive round-seven stoppage before a nine month lay-off.
Article courtesy of Wally Downes Jr. & The Sun
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