Since the 1st of June 2019 when AJ faced Andy Ruiz in New York’s Maddison Square Garden it’s been clear to see since this night he has never been the same.
He steps back into the ring this Saturday to face Robert Helenius at the O2, could we finally see the return of AJ’s box office fighting style that first caused his meteoric rise to be Heavyweight Champion of the world.
George Groves is also looking for an exciting version of Joshua, ‘Let’s see some old school American flair.’ Everyone wants to see it, so what has been holding AJ back since that night in New York?
Originally, AJ was scheduled to fight Jarrell Miller in 2019 and the fight was cancelled due to Miller testing positive for a banned substance. Andy Ruiz stepped into that fight late to replace Miller and created one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.
Many people were pointing the finger in different directions after this bout – he was concussed, he was unwell, and the list goes on.
George Groves has called for Anthony Joshua to show more flair against Robert Helenius
Groves says Joshua is impressive technically and now needs to bring back his aggressive style
The bottom line is, he got knocked out. Afterall, he showed great character to come back and beat Ruiz in a second bout, but this is when we saw a contrasting style from AJ of old when he first became a pro, as Groves describes as ‘Jab. Not a lot of action.’
Groves also said AJ is, ‘chasing wins and money.’ This is arguably the biggest reason as to why we’ve seen a different style from AJ since the Ruiz fight, as he has been trying to prolong his career by taking less damage.
It’s a tough thing to criticise an athlete for because regardless of what the fans want to see the aim of the game is to hit and not get hit yourself, and for these guys try and make as much money as possible whilst doing so.
Maybe, being put down multiple times against Ruiz woke AJ up to this reality and this is why we rarely see him let his hands go and march someone down until they crack.
AJ has the tools in the bag to be a great fighter and to become World Heavyweight Champion for a third time. ‘Technically he does everything well.’ Groves said, and the aggressive style that he needs to bring back I think many boxing enthusiasts would agree is something AJ has had in the past.
If you look back to the time he fought Dillian Whyte, he was box office and full of confidence as a young professional. He didn’t worry about being hit as much because he knew he would send something twice as hard back. He was more entertaining to watch, and he looked like a much happier boxer.
Unfortunately, the Dillan Whyte fight will not be going ahead due to a positive test for banned substances being returned by Whyte.
His replacement is Robert Helenius, a man best known for being knocked out in devastating fashion by Deontay Wilder in 2022. Regardless of this he holds a professional record of 32 wins and 4 loses with 21 of his wins coming via knockout.
Joshua is getting ready to step back in the ring as he takes on Robert Helenius
It’s clear that Joshua hasn’t been the same since he took on Andy Ruiz in June 2019
Regardless of the Wilder result AJ surely won’t make the same mistake he did when he fought Andy Ruiz, who was also a late replacement fighter due to a positive drugs test.
It’s about time for AJ to find his former self, Saturday’s bout presents him with a great opportunity to put on a show and remind boxing fans around the world why he is a world-class fighter.