AJ/Ruiz II in Saudi Arabia

[james5000]

Ruiz is so fat he's embarrassed to take off his t shirt

[nullanulla]

What a boring fight!

[mippy]

AJ fought as expected. Followed the same game plan he used against Parker. Pretty much the Klitsko approach. Boring to watch, but effective.

Fury or Wilder would beat AJ.

Although he did look sharp with less bulk

[mippy]

Povetkin v Hunter was the fight of the night.

[diehard]

Snooze fest. Even the commentators said nobody wants to watch AJ/Ruiz III. For the sake of heavyweight boxing, AJ needs to fight the Wilder/Fury winner.

Seeing as how Povetkin/Hunter was a draw (which was an honest result), Parker can now have his pick of either one of them.

Whyte looked ordinary.

[diehard]

Joshua avenges loss to Ruiz, regains WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles

Superbly conditioned Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) regained the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles by outboxing 283-pound Andy Ruiz Jr (33-2, 22 KOs) over twelve rounds on Saturday night at the Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Joshua set the tone and easily won in round one. Ruiz cut over the left eye with a sharp right hand. Joshua was cut over the left eye in round two, but landed the better shots. Joshua successfully kept Ruiz at bay from the outside as the rounds progressed. Ruiz connected with a few shots here and there, but Joshua did more and put round after round in the bank. Ruiz was able to rough up Joshua in round eight. Round nine was close. Joshua got back to boxing the rest of the way. Scores were 118-110, 118-110, 119-109.

[bart]

snooze feat... maybe but great discipline and dedication by AJ - stuck to game plan .. on point
Ruiz was disappointing- weight was an issue
Agree no need for a 3rd. If it was closer yes but that was too wide to warrant a 3peat.
Ruiz won't fight again for 12-14mths like after JP and slip down rankings
AJ should stay away from the top 2 Wilder and Fury as even after that performance he not in their league

[diehard]

Reminded me of Lennox Lewis. Effective with his jab, but boring. Ruiz and Parker are now in the same boat. AJ? I don't know.

Andy Ruiz: I didn’t prepare how I should have

Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz commented on what went wrong in his world title loss to Anthony on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.

“It was his night and I think I didn’t prepare how I should have,” Ruiz said after the fight. “I gained too much weight, but I don’t want to give no excuses. He wanted to box me around, but if we do the third fight you best believe I’m going to get in the f–king best shape and be in the best shape of my life…[the weight] kinda affected me a lot. I thought I was gonna feel stronger, I thought I was gonna be better, but I think next fight I’m going to get more prepared. I’m going to work with my team a little bit more. I tried to train myself for my last preparation. Like I said, I don’t wanna give no excuse. Anthony Joshua did a helluva a job.

“I think I was chasing him too much instead of cutting the ring. I was hesitating too much. My arms felt like I couldn’t throw my combinations. But you know what? I know next time I’m going to do a lot better. Who wants to see the third trilogy fight right here in Saudi Arabia, baby?”

[diehard]

Andy Ruiz Jr v Anthony Joshua II: Experts slam Ruiz's weight gain

Anthony Joshua took his revenge over Andy Ruiz with a clinical display.
Andy Ruiz Jr has been slammed for entering his failed heavyweight championship defence against Anthony Joshua out of shape after failing to fire a shot in Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz shocked the world six months ago when he stopped Joshua at Madison Square Garden to capture the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.

But it was a completely different story on Sunday as Joshua dictated terms from the opening bell with a masterful boxing display to record a lopsided unanimous decision.

While the portly Ruiz has always been criticised for his appearance, he went into the rematch weighing 128kg - seven kilos heavier than the first fight and the heaviest he's been since his first two pro fights in 2009.

Ruiz's camp suggested the weight gain was a careful ploy to overwhelm a leaner Joshua but, after watching his performance, many experts weren't buying it.

Long-time ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas was particularly scathing as he took aim at Ruiz's lack of output.

Please Mr. Ruiz don’t pretend with 30 secs left that you want to fight, you had 12 rds to go get inside and fight. What time is Shake Shack open to in Saudia Arabia?

"Please don't insult us by saying you put the weight on because you thought you would be stronger. But I will give you credit for one truthful statement, yes you are a hungry fighter."

Former two division champion Andre Ward, who retired in 2017 with a perfect 32-0 record, said it was clear Ruiz did not have the willpower to back up his previous performance.

Andy Ruiz blew a big opportunity in the Middle East. He said he would die in the ring to keep his belts. It didn’t take all of that, it just took the discipline and courage to push the plate back and deny himself, to put himself in the best position to win. He couldn’t do it.

— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) December 7, 2019

Congrats to Anthony Joshua for mentally bouncing back and fighting a controlled disciplined fight. The style of boxing “they” say no one wants to see, seems to always be the answer in the end. Hit and don’t get hit !

— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) December 7, 2019
"Andy Ruiz blew a big opportunity in the Middle East," Ward tweeted. "He said he would die in the ring to keep his belts. It didn't take all of that, it just took the discipline and courage to push the plate back and deny himself, to put himself in the best position to win. He couldn't do it."

After the fight Ruiz even admitted he gained too much weight, which former super-middleweight champion Caleb Truax said was inexcusable.

"I didn't prepare how I should have and I gained too much weight, but I dont want to make no excuses."

Literally the 2 most despicable excuses in boxing you can make. #RuizJoshua2 #boxing

— caleb truax (@GoldenCalebT) December 7, 2019
The American tweeted: "'I didn't prepare how I should have and I gained too much weight, but I dont want to make no excuses.'

"Literally the 2 most despicable excuses in boxing you can make."

Other were more sympathetic to Ruiz, who suffered just the second defeat of his career after being out-pointed by Kiwi Joseph Parker for the WBO crown in 2016.

The Mexican-American's win over Joshua in New York was one of the greatest upsets in boxing history and completely changed his life overnight.

British cruiserweight great Johnny Nelson told The Telegraph his preparation suffered as a result.

Andy Ruiz was seven kilos heavier than the first fight against Anthony Joshua.
"I think Ruiz's life changes after that win in June. If I give you 15 million quid that is going to change you, your motivation, your lifestyle. And then when you see him come in at 20 stone... I think that is the thing about the true champion, staying motivated," Nelson said.

Meanwhile, Joshua was widely praised for a disciplined performance that improved his record to 23-1.

Former WBC heavyweight champion, England's Frank Bruno told The Sun Joshua fought the perfect fight under the circumstances.

"Sometimes being a warrior can get you into trouble," Bruno said. "When you lose people find all excuses to bring up to the table. But sometimes people have got to eat that humble pie. He's returned his title, the title comes back to Briton and the world's his oyster."

Ward added on Twitter: "Congrats to Anthony Joshua for mentally bouncing back and fighting a controlled disciplined fight. The style of boxing "they" say no one wants to see, seems to always be the answer in the end. Hit and don't get hit!"

[diehard]

Andy Ruiz Jr. I didn’t train hard enough
Andy Brooks - December 7, 2019 1 Comment

Andy Ruiz Anthony Joshua Boxing News Boxing Results
Andy Ruiz Jr. thinks he’ll get a third fight against Anthony Joshua at a later date, and he’ll take advantage of that opportunity to beat him. Earlier on Saturday night, Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) lost to Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz, 31, was just following Joshua around, and not throwing punches. Joshua surprised Ruiz by staying on the move for three minutes of each round, and offering him few chances to land anything.

Although Joshua said afterwards that he would give Ruiz a third fight, he didn’t say when that’ll happen, and it might not be soon. AJ has mandatory defenses he needs to get out of the way against Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk. AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants to do a unification match with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, and set up fights with Tyson Fury and likely Dillian Whyte.

Ruiz insists there will be third Joshua fight
“I won one, he won one, and we’re going to go to the third one,” said Ruiz about Joshua at the post-fight news conference on Saturday night.”I think the heart that I have. I’m not scared of any of my opponents. If I’d have let my hands go like I did on June 1st, I would have won this fight.

“Like I said, I should have trained harder, I should have listened to my coaches more, and maybe I shouldn’t have put on all this weight that I did. I would have been faster, and I would have thrown more. I got him hurt a few times, and I let him survive. That was one of the mistakes that I did. I won one, and he won one, and then we’ll do the next one.

“He was boxing his life out, but that’s no excuse for me besides me not training as hard, and putting on all this weight. It was a good victory for him. A lot of things were going on with my plate. I make no excuses. I made a lot of mistakes. I know what I didn’t do, and what I should have done for the camp, and that paid off,” said Ruiz.

Unfortunately for Ruiz, he should have taken the fight seriously, because this might have been his last shot. It’s crazy that Ruiz didn’t train all out for the fight, because he was on the deck in their first fight. It’s not as if he dominated Joshua the entire time.

During the post-fight news conference, Ruiz revealed that he failed to listen to his coach Manny Robles, and he was training himself. That doesn’t sound good. If Ruiz lacks discipline to follow what his coaches are telling him, then it could be difficult for him to ever beat Joshua or any good heavyweight again.

Andy says he was too heavy
“I know I’ll learn from my mistakes, and I’ll be ready for the next one. It affected me a little bit,” said Ruiz. “I couldn’t see good out of my left eye. I think I maintained good, and I should have pressured more.

“I think I was waiting too much. My arms weren’t fluid like they usually are, you know? I think it was because of the weight. I weighed in too heavy, and I wasn’t able to throw my combinations. The cut messed me up a little bit, but us warriors, we try got ignore the cuts, and we do our best to do our job.

“I think I’ll prepare myself a lot more. Being the champion for the first time, it was kind of hard. Being over here, being over there, missing training. I don’t want to have no excuses, but I know I’m going to work my a– off. Being not in the greatest shape, I did pretty good. I took all his shots. I felt like I should have pressured more, and let my hands go. I think that’s what I needed to do,” said Ruiz.

It’s pretty evident that Ruiz didn’t train hard enough for the fight. Coming in at 283 lbs was a dead giveaway that Ruiz didn’t take the fight seriously enough.

More than likely, Ruiz will need to earn a third fight with Joshua rather than have it given to him again. The only way Ruiz can do that is by beating these types of heavyweights:

Dillian Whyte
Otto Wallin
Michael Hunter
Alexander Povetkin
Oscar Rivas
Adam Kownacki
Joseph Parker
Dereck Chisora

Ruiz admits to starting training too late
“I got him a few times, he got me a few times and I ate his punches,” said Ruiz. “When I was going toe-to-toe, that’s when I was connecting. I know for the trilogy, I’m going to be a lot better. If it’s here, it’s even better. I want to redeem myself here in Saudi Arabia.

“I’m just a little disappointed. I was talking to my dad and my team, I should have listened to them, and I shouldn’t have put on all this weight. I tried to do the training on my own. I should have listened to them more. I think I got too confident in myself. I know for the third one, I’m going to be a lot better.

“I think I started too late. I don’t want to say that the three months that I had, celebrating kind of affected me. To tell you the truth, it kind of did. I can learn from my mistake. I’m glad that I learned it while I was young. This is just the beginning for me. There’s a lot of big fights coming soon. It sure did. I was just following him. I wasn’t doing what I do best,” Ruiz said.

The rumors were right about Ruiz living it up, enjoying the huge money he made in his first fight with Joshua. Ruiz says he didn’t start training for the fight with Joshua until three months before the fight. There wasn’t enough time for Ruiz to take off all the weight that he’d put while celebrating.

Combination punching wasn’t there for Ruiz
“I wasn’t letting my hands go, and I was leaving myself open,” said Ruiz. “I was taking all his best shots. I know for the next one, I’ll be a lot better. What would I do different? Listen to my dad, and listen to my coach, and be more concentrated on the fight. Train harder, and take it more serious.

“There’s a lot of responsibility being the champion of the world. I think the partying got the best of me, but next time it’s going to be a lot better. The only thing he did good was move around as much as he can. When I would throw, I would land punches.

“I think from being overweight, I think it held me back. I think I was looking for one or two punches instead of being the way I usually am in throwing four and five punches, and I think that’s what got the best of me. He did a really good job, and he got me with a lot of jabs. He did a good performance. He boxed me around, and he ran around,” said Ruiz.

The absence of combination punchng is what hurt Ruiz more than anything tonight. When he would come forward looking to land on Joshua, he would throw one or two shots, and then immediately get grabbed in a clinch. Ruiz sometimes fought through the clinch effectively, but most of the time he just let Joshua tie him up. The reason Ruiz allowed Joshua to clinch him without braining him was obviously because he wanted to rest.

Ruiz willing to fight anybody
“He just boxed me. Me being overweight, I couldn’t perform the best that I could. In the heavyweight division, there are a lot of fighters. I want to rest, talk to my team, and think about my career, and look back at what I want to do. I just want to focus more, and train harder for this fight, and don’t look passed my opponents. I’ll fight anybody in the game. I’m not scared of nobody,” said Ruiz.

If Ruiz is willing to fight anyone, then he should contact Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn and volunteer to fight Michael Hunter, Povetkin, Filip Hrgovic, Whyte or Dereck Chisora. Those would be excellent fights for Ruiz to earn a third fight with Joshua. Right now, there’s no point in Joshua fighting Ruiz again.