AJ/Ruiz II in Saudi Arabia
Joshua puts on masterclass beating Ruiz
Tim Compton - December 7, 2019 6 Comments

Anthony Joshua is a world champion once again in defeating IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. It was a tactical fight for Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) with him taking view chances, and boxing in a fashion that allowed Ruiz ZERO chances to land anything at all.

Of course, Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) wasn’t helped in that he came into the fight weighing 283 lbs, and lacking the condition needed to successfully keep his titles.

Joshua took a handful of hard shots from Ruiz, but he held up well. AJ made sure that he tied Ruiz up immediately with bearhugs to keep him from getting off more than two or three shots.

Hearn insists Joshua deserves respect
“I’m so happy for Anthony. After MSG, that was a humiliating defeat,” said Hearn to IFL TV about Joshua’s win over Andy Ruiz tonight. “people dominated his heart, his boxing ability, his stamina, what a performance. It was an absolute masterclass. Look at the resume.

“How many times do I have to tell you? 15th fight Dillian Whyte, 16th fight Charles Martin for the world title, 17th [Eric] Molina, 18th [Dominic] Breazeale, 19th unification against [Wladimir] Klitschko, 20th [Carlos] Takam, 21st unification against [Joseph] Parker, 22 against [Alexander] Povetkin, 23 Ruiz, 24 Ruiz. Show him [Joshua] the f—- respect. Show me a resume like it. F— the humble stuff. That’s for him. Give him the respect!

“This guy is an amazing individual. He’s an ambassador for the sport, and he’s done so much for British boxing. He’s changed people’s careers. Tonight, he made history in the Middle East. The game plan couldn’t have been better. It was punch perfect, it was schooling. Ruiz is such a good boxer, and he completely schooled him.

Whether boxing fans want to give Joshua respect or not off of this performance is up to them. If the fans prefer to see boxing over brawling, then they were happy with how Joshua fought tonight. He fought like Floyd Mayweather Jr. in taking view chances, and playing it safe.

This wasn’t ever going to be an exciting slugging display from Joshua, because he realizes now after his loss to Ruiz last June that he can’t fight like that anymore. He doesn’t have the chin or the stamina to fight in that manner.

Hearn gave Ruiz just 2 rounds
“Unbelievable shutout. I gave Ruiz two rounds,” said Hearn. “I was like, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’ but Ruiz is so f— dangerous. The plan is to relax. The King is over there. He wants to be undisputed, but we got a load of mandatory’s now. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Tonight he made history. You can’t take that away from him.

“People don’t understand that they doubted him, and he proved them all wrong. He’s improving. I told you before he’s had 24 fights, and 40 amatuer fights. He’s getting better, better and better. But to come here off the back of a defeat that you went over 4 times, you’ve got the mental strength to come back and put in a performance like that. Come on.

“The last three minutes, I was like, ‘Just f— move,’ but he still won the round. I’ve got so much respect for the man. I’ve worked with him since he first turned pro in 2012. It was heartbreaking at Madison Square Garden,” said Hearn in remembering Joshua’s loss to Ruiz last June. What a man. Who knows what’s going to happen. MSG, Wembley, Saudi, let’s just enjoy it,” said Hearn when asked where Joshua will fight next. “You’ve got to enjoy a night like that,” said Hearn.

Joshua has to back mandatory defenses due to against Oleksandr Usyk and Kubrat Pulev for his IBF and WBO titles. He might vacate the WBO belt, and take the easier fight against Pulev. That’s a move Hearn would likely prefer Joshua to take, because Usyk is one of his fighters in his Matchroom Boxing stable.

If Usyk wins the vacant WBO belt, Hearn would have another revenue stream to make money for Matchroom. But if Joshua holds onto his WBO title to defend against Usyk, then one of them will lose. That’s bad news for Hearn.
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Interesting to see what Ruiz does from here. He's made his millions and is in a similar position to JP. Good, but not good enough to mix it with the top 3. I reckon he'll probably have a couple of lack luster come back fights and then fade into obscurity. Kind of like what Parker is doing
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Or go missing for three odd years and come back when he runs out of money
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I unfortunately believe that is what will happen to him apart from AJ and JP he hasn't shown any real ambition to fight anyone decent- just old fellas.
If he puts his name to paper to fight the likes of Hunter, Povetkin,Ortiz,Rivas etc I will believe he is serious
I just reckon by the end of next year he will fight a Leapai level fighter
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/118044489/boxings-bad-blood-continues-as-deontay-wilder-ridicules-anthony-joshuas-comeback-win
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I think Ruiz is gonna take the Buster Douglas route, he's had his 15 minutes (well 6 months).
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/118070089/anthony-joshua-delivers-blow-to-joseph-parker-with-plans-to-fight-mandatory-challengers
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https://fightnews.com/joshua-wants-wilder-fury-ortiz-usyk-to-call-him/63528
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I just think that Ruiz frauded (is that a word?) by not training hard and taking the rematch seriously. Showed up in Saudi just to collect his paycheck:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/118111944/andy-ruiz-jr-admits-he-ate-everything-before-rematch-with-anthony-joshua
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A disgrace to the sport': Tyson Fury's promoter blasts 'Burger King' Andy Ruiz Jr

Anthony Joshua: What next for the world heavyweight champion?

Anthony Joshua reclaimed his world heavyweight titles with an emphatic points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr.

Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr continues to be derided for his losing effort to Anthony Joshua in last weekend's unification rematch, with top British promoter Frank Warren labelling him a "disgrace" to boxing.

An out of shape Ruiz lost his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles to Joshua in Saudi Arabia as he struggled to keep up with the athletic Brit having weighed in at a portly 128kg.

He later admitted that he hadn't trained properly for the rematch and "ate everything" in the buildup as he got carried away with the newfound fame that followed his stunning seventh-round upset of Joshua in June.

But Tyson Fury's promoter Warren had no sympathy for Ruiz Jr, saying he had "brought disgrace to himself and the sport" by not getting in shape to defend his world heavyweight crown.

Joshua reclaims heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia

Anthony Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr on a unanimous points decision to reclaim his heavyweight belts.

In an article posted on his own website, the Hall of Fame promoter blasted Ruiz for "failing to prepare to any sort of level" and suggested that "Joshua must've wondered which chin he was supposed to aim for."

"Yes, he [Ruiz] was heavy last time around and usually wobbles a bit around the middle, but this was ridiculous. When eyebrows were being raised at the weigh-in he literally was the elephant in the room," Warren wrote.

Promoter Frank Warren didn't hold back in his criticism of Andy Ruiz Jr, labelling him the "Burger King".
"Just because you're a heavyweight it shouldn't mean you don't have an obligation to display a degree of athletic intention."

Warren went on to accuse a flabby Ruiz – who after the fight admitted had spent "three months of partying" and "should've trained harder" – of doing boxing fans and punters a disservice by not turning up in a condition to win.

"What we ended up with was a fella who scoffed himself out of being world champion and a spectacle that suffered as a result", Warren said.

Frank Warren said Andy Ruiz Jr was a "disgrace" for not getting in shape for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
"It's a bit late after the event to say you partied too much and regret carrying so much weight.

"Spare a thought for those punters who had a punt on the champion, who had every right to believe he had put the graft in.

"Professional athletes have a responsibility to ensure a level playing field on behalf of those who pay for the privilege of watching."

While Warren gave Joshua some credit for his dominant performance, saying he "got his game plan and tactics just right", he criticised his compatriot for being "safety first" as he went the 12-round distance against the Mexican-American.

Warren insisted that his charge, the unbeaten Fury, would have gone for the kill and stopped Ruiz rather than boxed his way to a points win.

"It is all very well [Ruiz] having fast hands, but this is pretty redundant if your legs won't shift you quickly enough into range. Carrying all that weight around with you will never be an advantage", Warren continued.

"Joshua did what he had to do and congratulations to him on getting his belts back, but I know what [Fury's trainer] Ben Davison was getting out when he used the term 'a poor man's Tyson Fury'.

"Ben wasn't being disrespectful because Tyson Fury wouldn't have been dancing around away from Ruiz, he would have done a job on him and stopped him.

"Tyson is elusive. While he looks to make them miss, he also always seeks to make them pay. Watch the [Deontay] Wilder fight again and you will see that getting up close holds no fears for Tyson.

"Joshua now has two mandatory defences looming so we'll have to wait and see whether he attempts to negotiate fitting them in or lets a belt go.

"The bottom line from what we saw over in Saudi is that Ruiz was a disgrace to the belts he was defending. He did a Buster Douglas and ate himself out of contention.

"I saw Ruiz saying he had achieved his dream. Well, if his dream was to win the titles then stuff himself stupid and lose them at the first time of asking, then his dream has become a reality.

"King of the heavyweight division to Burger King in the space of six months."

Fury, 31, is set to face WBC heavyweight champion Wilder in the US in February after their first meeting in December 2018 ended in a controversial draw.

Stuff
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