Anthony Joshua has a subtle weakness in his game, Daniel Dubois’ former trainer Shane McGuigan has pointed out.
The heavyweight titans will meet this weekend for the IBF heavyweight title in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
Joshua has shown vulnerability in the pastGETTY
Whoever emerges victorious will punch their ticket for an undisputed heavyweight clash with the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury‘s rematch on December 21.
Ahead of fight night, talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver and Dubois‘ ex-trainer McGuigan previewed the all-British showdown by running through both men’s keys to victory, complete with a visual display on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel.
The voice of British boxing, Adam Smith, watched on while Oliver and McGuigan donned gloves and headgear as they delved into the main chink in AJ‘s amour.
“When he’s in the fire, he can be vulnerable,” said Smith.
McGuigan replied: “Absolutely, because he drops his right hand when he throws a jab.
“So when he throws a jab he separates it [from the right hand] to get it to really travel.
“And when he gets brave, he drops his right hand.”
When Joshua opens up and gets greedy with his work, he leaves himself open to the left hook.
Case in point, his knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and his close call in the second round against Dillian Whyte.
Joshua and Dubois are fighting for the IBF heavyweight world title this weekend
talkSPORTOliver and McGuigan gave a detailed breakdown of the fight[/caption]
“Dillian Whyte caught him with a fantastic left hook in the middle of the combination,” McGuigan continued.
“Same thing with Ruiz, his head came up, he traded left hooks, Andy Ruiz met him on the inside with a short left hook.”
Joshua used to get caught with a check left hook when stepping in with his jab.
But these days, AJ tends to hold his feet more and punches to the target rather than through it, making him less susceptible to the counter.
As a result, Dubois will have to step forward and jab with AJ to find success.
“Whoever establishes their jab first and gets into a rhythm will take control of the fight early,” said Oliver.
McGuigan added: “The most important thing for Daniel is for him to double that jab up.
“Then the right-hand pull isn’t there and he can land afterwards.”
If Dubois can force Joshua onto his heels he will take the sting out of AJ’s best shot, the straight right.
But he risks getting caught on the way in. “He [Joshua] throws less right hands than Filip Hrgovic (Dubois’ last opponent).
“But he is way more accurate and it’s also his confidence with punching through the target.
“He doesn’t punch through the target with his jab but he really lets the right hand go and that is such a devastating shot, Daniel can’t get hit with it.”
talkSPORT will bring you exclusive live commentary of the heavyweight clash at Wembley Stadium between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois on Saturday, September 21. Download the talkSPORT app here.
