Joshua vs Ruiz 2: Preview and Prediction
The unheralded Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the world last time around when he stopped unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the seventh round of their June 1st meeting in Madison Square Garden.
Online sports betting sites had the portly Ruiz Jr., a stand-in opponent for drug cheat Jarrell Miller, as a massive underdog, but it wasn’t just a fluke TKO in the seventh, the Mexican-American heavyweight was ahead 57-56 on two of the three judges scorecards and scored four knockdowns overall.Olympic champion Anthony Joshua is the favourite once again, but this time around the odds are much closer due to the outcome of the first fight, which is still seen as one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history. Now, 'The Destroyer' Andy Ruiz Jr. is listed as a +214 underdog, and Briton Joshua is a moderate favourite of -289.
Can the corpulent Ruiz hang on to the belts he stripped from AJ just a few short months ago?
Weight Scandal
Ok… so perhaps it isn’t a scandal, as such, but Eddie Hearn recently called Ruiz Jr. out for ‘trickery.’ He said the fighter used favourable angles on Instagram to make it look like he had lost weight, when in fact he is still rather ‘tubby’. Promoter Hearn went on to say that it looks like Ruiz Jr. might even be heavier than when he stepped into the ring last time, five months ago. Mind games from the Mexican? People are still saying that his requests to Joshua to hold his belts and pose for pictures was all a ruse ahead of their first fight. Was he acting? Playing the part of a starstruck kid that was just happy to be there, rather than the formidable opponent that would knock the unbeaten champion down four times in 20 minutes!
Conversely, Anthony Joshua actually has cut some weight and is sporting a brand-new, trimmer frame. He looks quite a bit slimmer and Ruiz stated that less bulky AJ is proof that the Brit will try to win on points in Saudi Arabia. It could be rather less satisfying if Joshua boxes clever around Ruiz all night, trying to avoid a war of exchanges like in the first epic encounter. It’s a heavyweight fight afterall, and fans expect drama and hard shots thrown and landed. If AJ’s game plan is, in fact, to win on points, it shows fear, possibly. He gave Ruiz his best shots, in particular a heavy right hand moments after he had knocked him down, but it fired him up and led to the widely dismissed Ruiz scoring a knockdown of his own. Knowing he has taken AJ's best shots and smiled, the gameplan now seems to take it to the distance, where he has slowed down before.
The Fight
Many think that now that AJ has gotten a chance to watch back the tape, and to have experienced being in the ring with Ruiz Jr. that he’ll come out and dominate this time around behind an extensive jab. But that’s not what domestic rival Tyson Fury thinks. Fury thinks Ruiz will beat him again… funny thing is, American rival Deontay Wilder also thinks the same thing. Are they just AJ haters are or they subject matter experts with valid points to be considered? Wilder thinks that AJ still doesn’t really know what happened in fight No.1, and he’s being pushed into this rematch too soon. And Fury thinks that AJ has met his bogeyman in Ruiz. Both very interesting points, Ruiz has a style that doesn't bode well for Joshua, who is a very stand up tall fighter, and somewhat rigid at times. Punching downwards is always harder than it looks, too. Lots of onlookers are often mistaken when there's a significant height difference, expecting it goin the favour of the taller man. It doesn't always work in their favour. Wilder is also observant that AJ may not have had time to really put his finger on what key factors played a part in his downfall. Many boxing purists have suggested that Ruiz Jr is just a better all-round boxer than AJ is.
Despite what Fury and Wilder say, many others believe that AJ is going to have more determination and will than ever to win this fight. Most think that Joshua is going to adapt and adjust his game and come in and get it done – his weight cut shows that this could be true. But others say that if AJ isn’t fixed mentally and emotionally then he will lose again.
One thing is certain, AJ can’t step into the ring cold this time around. And it’s doubtful that he will. Joshua will stay to the outside and play the points game at least for the first half of the fight. If he can stay away and wear the heavier fighter down, tiring him, he has a chance to not only win on points but to stop Ruiz in his tracks.
Prediction
If Joshua turns up this time, then he should justify his position as the 'bookies favourite' to win. But last time around, he clearly wasn't himself, questionably underestimating his replacement opponent, who does not look any part the champion, and was arguably affected by the change in opposition. TheStateside debut and weight upon his shoulders could also have played a facter in his downfall although he dismisses any such ideas.
Ruiz Jr could have entered the contest as an undefeated world champion had he not took his foot off the gas during his 2016 meeting with Joe Parker where he lost a mixed decision 3,000 miles from home in New Zealand.
The Californian of Mexican descent has been boxing since the age of six and very narrowly missed out on becoming an Olympian.
That said, AJ should win back his belts.