One of the most impressive aspects of Feldman's win was his superior conditioning. "My conditioning felt excellent," he said. "The training in Vegas with my coach [Brandon Woods] really paid off. He really worked me hard and I felt great the whole fight.
"I remember being in round five thinking, 'Man, my gas tank feels great,'" Josh continued. "In the tenth round, I still felt good." Not only did the 22 year old feel good, but he looked strong throughout the contest. This was Feldman's first fight in fifteen months and his first ten-rounder. It came against a rough opponent, which makes his conditioning all the more encouraging. "It's weird. I felt fitter fighting ten rounds now than I did fighting six rounds last year."
In addition to his conditioning, Josh pointed out other positive areas, "My jab was really good in the fight. My body shots were great." Feldman assaulted Brits's midsection all night. "He's very durable. To be honest, I'm surprised he was able to take so many body shots." That Brits remained standing is a credit to his toughness and not an indication of a lack of power or punch placement on Feldman's part.
"My defense was good in spots," Feldman explained, though he admitted he could have done better. At times, the southpaw expertly slipped Brits's attempts and blocked plenty of return fire, but he was hit cleanly too often. "I started to mix it up too much and play into his type of fight, which is a brawl," he admitted.
When asked if he took control of center ring too early and attempted to walkdown Brits before Emile was ready to go, Feldman had a logical and thoughtful response," I don't think backing him up early was a bad idea. He's very uncomfortable fighting on the backfoot, so I think it was a good idea backing him up." However, Josh acknowledged there were holes in his defense and in his execution of the game plan, "I stayed in the midrange a bit too long and I left my head in the center, which is an area I need to improve upon. It can be a mistake that I do quite often."
Josh explained, "I fought him too much instead of doing what I needed to do: step around him and get back on my jab."
Coach Woods couldn't make the trip to Cape Town, so he and Josh parted two weeks before the fight. Feldman believes that if Woods had been there, he would have gotten his head off the line defensively and been even more effective offensively, possibly getting the stoppage. "[Coach Woods] would have reminded me of the stuff we worked on and I wouldn't have gotten hit as much, and maybe been more punctual with my shots," Josh said.
"I know I'm capable of more," he declared. It's the exact mindset a prospect must have. Feldman sees the progress he's made since first arriving in Las Vegas, but he knows he has potential to go much further.
