7th round TKO, just minutes ago in Madison Square Garden. Joshua’s always had a suspect chin. I think he probably underestimated SoCal’s Mexican Doughboy, too. Ruiz has much faster hands than you might think.
Joshua’s chin may have been suspect, but his character’s never been in question. Pretty classy post-fight comments.
“Big respect to Andy, big big respect,” Joshua said. “[He’s a] good fighter. Thank you America. Thank you everyone for coming out this evening. Sorry I let my friends down, sorry I let my supporters down.”
It looks like Joshua’s contract may have had a clause that requires a rematch first. Ruiz may have signed that just to get the chance to get in the ring with AJ. I’m not exactly clear on the details, though.
Ruiz should make bank on the next fight, no matter what … but I’d love to see a Wilder v Ruiz fight first.
The boxing world is in shock (still). This has just about shut down the sports internet.
I just watched the fight. Joshua rushed finishing it off after the first knock down. Easy mistake to make. I didn’t like Joshua pawing out the jab so much. Why do taller fighters do that so often? I can’t see how this raises questions about Joshua’s chin when he got back up 4 times.
Ruiz was really good. As has been said his hand speed is great, but what got me was his head movement. He was slipping jabs and counter punching almost at will. That might partly be down to Joshua only occasionally committing with his jab.
Very good fight. I think Joshua should win a rematch if there is one.
Best fight for making money is for Ruiz to find Tyson Fury. Fury is great at selling the fight and is ironically better known in America than American Deontay Wilder.
I would pay good money to see Fury and Ruiz at a pre-fight weigh-in in LA. I foresee many opportunities for over the top posturing. That would be a lot of fun, surely.
Interesting comment about awareness of Wilder in the US. I think Wilder’s pretty well known, and highly respected in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, especially for decisions he made earlier in his life to support his daughter, who suffers from spina bifida, at least among sports fans.
(not actually a reply to @biggusdickus, sorry bout that)
It’s so strange, some of the most athletic people I’ve know have a chubby body. They don’t look like much, but they have this deceptive explosion. And they actually suffer in athleticism if you make them lose weight and get one of those Hollywood bodys.
Guy I played HS football with wasn’t fat or flabby, but he was just build odd. Tall but squarish, with very long, kinda thin arms. Farm kid, and strong af despite appearances. Had a golfball size knot that would stand out on his forearm when he benchpressed like 225 for ten reps, no problem. Swore it was the first time he’d ever touched a weight in his life. Not a fun guy to be run over by when being trap blocked inside the offensive line.
I was just chatting to a mate who knows considerably more than I do about boxing and he’s of the opinion that there was something wrong with Joshua. That he looked really slow.
I disagreed. I think he’d prepared for a completely different fight. Ruiz is very different. How many counter punchers come forward?
I’m always quite jealous of those people with freakish genetics in strength and muscle. One aboriginal guy I was doing my conscription was built. Never lifted in his life, but you can tell he’s strong and if he put some time in training he would be a monster.
