By Tim Royner: Andy Ruiz Jr. says the rematch with Anthony Joshua will be the same as their first fight earlier this month. Ruiz states that he knows former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua’s flaws now, and the only thing he can do is try and run around the ring to avoid getting hit by him. Needless to say, Andy doesn’t see that as an effective game plan for Joshua, and believes it’s going to end badly for the former champion. Since Joshua has never shown the ability to move in a fight, Ruiz Jr. expects to beat him again.
Still basking in the glow of his seventh round knockout win over Joshua earlier this month on June 1, Ruiz Jr. let the media know about his thoughts on the upcoming rematch with the British heavyweight.
AJ ignoring advice to stay away from Ruiz
Ruiz Jr. met with the media on Friday at a news conference in California to discuss the Joshua fight, and his future options. He says he’s interested in avenging his loss to Joseph Parker after he faces former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) in November or December in the U.S or UK.
Andy Ruiz Jr. says rematch with Joshua will “be the same” result
“The rematch is going to be the same. I’m going to be more prepared, I know his flaws, I can do a lot better,” said Ruiz Jr. “I think the only thing he can do is just run around. He’s not good at boxing, he’s NOT a good boxer. It’s going to be a hell of a fight,” said Ruiz Jr.
Joshua, 29, wants the rematch right away, and he’s resisted all the advice given to him to delay the rematch a year or two down the road. AJ believes that he wasn’t fully switched on for the fight, and that he can change in a second fight with Ruiz. Boxing great George Foreman told Joshua to leave Ruiz alone, and go in a different direction. Further, former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis wants Joshua to change out his trainer Rob McCracken a new coach to help him improve. Joshua isn’t listening to either of these great fighters. He’s going to do it his way, and possibly suffer the consequences.
AJ will use his size and reach in rematch
It’s predictable that the 6’6″ Joshua will attempt to use his height and reach to box Ruiz Jr. from the outside, because that’s the safest thing for him to do. Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken will look to get him to stay away from exchanges with Ruiz Jr., considering that he likely knows how poor AJ’s stamina and chin are after years of having worked with him. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya believes Joshua has a glass jaw, and he questions whether that’s something he can improve.
There’s an excellent chance that Joshua will fight Ruiz in the same way he did Joseph Parker by sitting behind the jab, and avoiding exchanges at all costs.
Joshua employed a safety first style in beating Parker by a wide 12 round unanimous decision last year in March 2018 in front of 70,000+ fans at the Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua won that fight by the wide scores of 118-110, 119-109 and 118-110.
The Joshua-Parker contest wasn’t close in any way, shape or form, thanks to the referee, who prevented inside fighting. After the bout, many boxing fans remarked about how similar Joshua’s fighting style looked to that of Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua did a good job of mimicking Wladimir’s fighting style. Whether it would have worked for Joshua if the referee hadn’t prevented Parker from getting close is unclear.
Joshua is capable of fighting like Klitschko
AJ did a a lot of the same things Wladimir did inside the ring during his career. However, the referee Giuseppe Quartarone, who worked the Joshua-Parker fight, made it possible for Joshua to keep the action on the outside by him preventing Parker from getting in close.
Quarterone would pull Parker away when he would attempt to work on the inside. It was a strange looking fight, because the referee looked like he didn’t have a full grasp of the rules of boxing. Joshua was criticized after the fight by many fans due to the way the match was officiated.
Ruiz says Hearn started sparring rumors
Andy believes that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is behind the rumors of AJ having had a panic attack, and getting knocked down in sparring the week of the fight. Ruiz Jr. thinks that Hearn or his team came up with the rumors as an excuse to help explain away Joshua’s loss. Ruiz Jr. feels that Hearn needed to come up with a good explanation why Joshua had fallen apart, and been stopped in seven rounds.
“You know what, I think Eddie Hearn or his people are trying to get something [out there about] why he lost like that you know,” said Ruiz Jr. “But he fought a hungry guy. I was hungry, I was mentally focused for that fight and I did not want to lose in front of my family or get beat up in front of my family.”
Ruiz Jr. fought hard after he was knocked down in the third round by Joshua, and he came back to stop him in the seventh. That was the difference in the fight. Joshua gassed out after a physically draining exchange with Ruiz in round three, and he never got the chance to get his second wind. Unlike Klitschko, Ruiz Jr. didn’t allow Joshua to recover after he knocked him down hard in the third. Wladimir dropped Joshua in the sixth round in their fight in 2017. However, Wladimir then foolishly backed off, and stayed on the outside for the remainder of the fight. As a result, Joshua later came back later in the contest, and scored an 11th round knockout.
Ruiz Jr. wants rematch with Josesph Parker
“I’d like to fight him [Joseph Parker] after we get the fight I have first,” said Ruiz Jr. about wanting to fight a rematch with Parker. “I never look past an opponent that I have. Right now I’m just focused on getting the results that I got in the last fight in the rematch, and remain the Mexican heavyweight champion of the world at heavyweight,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz Jr. lost to Parker by a 12 round majority decision in 2016 in New Zealand. It was a controversial decision win for Parker, and a lot of boxing fans are calling it a hometown decision. Parker is from New Zealand.
The Venue for Joshua-Ruiz rematch to be announced shortly
Hearn and Joshua will soon be making an announcement for the location of the rematch with Ruiz. They want to do that within a week or two to get it out of the way. The location of the Joshua vs. Ruiz fight is narrowed down to Madison Square Garden in New York, and in the UK.
Joshua needs to lose muscle
Trainer Freddie Roach thinks Joshua is carrying too much muscle weight for him to be able to fight without tiring. Roach says Joshua needs to trim down to get back to the weight that he carried during the 2012 Olympics. Joshua weighed approximately 225 pounds back then, which enabled him to throw a lot of punches without tiring. Joshua hasn’t given any indication whether he’ll try and trim off 20+ pounds of muscle weight for the rematch with Ruiz.