Joshua vs Klitschko: How the two corners hope to win the fight

Andy Lewis 16:29 28/04/2017
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  • Who will win the fight?

    Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko go head to head in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium tonight in what is the biggest heavyweight fight in years.

    The clash pits Joshua, the division’s emerging force, against Klitschko, the cerebral veteran who ruled the division for more than a decade until a shock defeat to Tyson Fury in November 2015.

    Here we look at the possible strategies the two men might employ.

    AJ LOOKS TO SEEK AND DESTROY

    In his flawless 18-fight, 18 knockout, winning streak, Joshua has been consistently aggressive and consistently successful – and he always starts fast. He’s an imposing figure, punches hard and fast with both hands, and rarely takes a backward step.

    Joshua wants to command the centre of the ring, fire out his fast and powerful orthodox left jab, almost always looking to follow with the straight right. When it’s all going his way, the one-two will become a three with a left hook added for good measure, or he’ll start mixing it up with powerful right hand potshots or even the occasional lead uppercut.

    Ultimately, AJ wants his opponent against the ropes, and that’s where he unloads his full arsenal, ripping to body and head and always looking to finish the job as soon as he smells blood. Joshua has promised to “go for the KO” and to “unleash hell”.

    If he remains true to his word then expect the tried and tested – the type of brutal offence that has got him this far.

    FURIOUS JOSHUA LEARNS LESSON FROM TYSON

    If the book is out on how to beat this version of Klitschko, then Fury scribed it in Dusseldorf. Joshua’s fellow Brit executed a masterful gameplan, feinting incessantly and shifting from side to side to keep Klitschko off balance and unable to set his feet. Combined with Fury’s size and reach, it meant the champion barely laid a glove on him.

    Rumours abound that AJ could borrow from this plan, tempering his aggression and looking to box Klitschko in the early rounds. Joshua appears a more rounded technician with every fight and, particularly in flattening Charles Martin, has shown he has those fast-twitch counters.

    It’s perhaps logical that we’ll see a more circumspect AJ in the early going, but it would be a major shock if he persisted with a more measured approach.

    KLITSCHKO TAKES CENTRE STAGE

    After crushing defeats to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, Klitschko completely rebuilt his style under the late, great Manny Steward. The legendary Kronk trainer borrowed aspects of the blueprint that had proven so successful with Lennox Lewis and constructed a formula based around Klitschko’s formidable jab.

    The Ukrainian’s left lead is a heavy punch, and usually stays in an opponent’s face as a deterrent.

    Yes, when he misses he looks to clinch. And, yes, when his foe slips it then his first instinct is to spoil and then grab. But when he gets into a rhythm with the jab, follows up with the right hand or hooks off of the lead, then Klitschko can be a heavyweight’s worst nightmare. Just ask David Haye.

    It would be a major statement if he could come out in the early rounds and claim the centre of the ring, fire out that famous jab, control Joshua with it, put some doubt into his mind and take tactical control.

    WLAD PLAYS THE LONG GAME

    In 18 fights, Joshua has only been past three rounds twice, taken to the seventh by both Dillian Whyte and then Dominic Breazeale, and questions remain unanswered about his engine.

    For all his obvious athleticism, Joshua has to carry a lot of muscle mass and it’s possible that Klitschko could use movement, spoiling and clinching to frustrate AJ during the first half of the fight in the hope that he will eventually run out of gas and unravel in uncharted territory.

    Klitschko, by contrast, is more than proven over the championship distance, and even at 41 years of age still has the gumption to tough it out and execute a game plan. Rumours have suggested that cardio, footwork and movement have been a big part of his training camp.

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