By Dan Ambrose: Andy ‘The Destroyer’ Ruiz Jr. has responded to all the critics by saying that he’s “working” hard for his rematch with Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) on December 7 in Saudi Arabia. Ruiz Jr. says he wants boxing fans to “sleep on me again” going into his rematch. In other words, Ruiz doesn’t want any pressure on him for the rematch. He wants to be underestimated again.
The 29-year-old Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) has been heavily criticized by boxing fans as partying nonstop, and living it up with the fame he’s suddenly received since knocking out Joshua in the 7th round on June 1.
Is Andy Ruiz Jr. the next Buster Douglas?
There’s been concern from fans and former fighters that Ruiz Jr. is too busy enjoying all the money and hero worship that he’s received, and that’s not getting back in the gym to begin training. Ruiz is already being compared to former heavyweight champion Buster Douglas, and it’s not in a favorable light. The former champion Douglas beat Mike Tyson in February 1990 by a 10th round knockout. A 42-to-1 underdog, Douglas pulled off the biggest upset in boxing history. However, eight months later, a bloated Douglas was knocked out in the 3rd round by Evander Holyfield in October 1990. Douglas’ career sank quickly after that loss.
Ruiz Jr. says he wants people to overlook him again
😤 Andy Ruiz Jr hits back at critics ahead of the Anthony Joshua rematch: “Everyone’s gonna say this and that, but at the end of the day they don’t know s*** but what they see on Instagram. We working. I want them to sleep on me again and think I’m just partying. We coming hard.”
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 31, 2019
Ruiz Jr. needs to redirect his comments to his own trainer Manny Robles, since he’s the one that started all of this. He revealed in an interview that Ruiz hadn’t started training, and that he was hoping he would show up on a particular day. The way Robles spoke, he sounded frustrated that Ruiz wasn’t starting camp. Boxing fans saw that interview, and took it to mean that Ruiz is slacking off and not wanting to start training for the rematch.
It’s pretty clear what Ruiz Jr. will be attempting to do in the rematch. He’s going to go after Joshua hard whenever he’s attacked by the British heavyweight. Ruiz Jr. is a counter puncher, and it energizes him when he gets hit meaningful shots. Since Joshua is a power puncher, he’s a catalyst for Ruiz causing him to explode with punches each time he’s tagged. In the rematch, Joshua would be smart to jab and box for the entire 12 rounds, and avoid throwing anything with power.
Ruiz thrives on being hit big shots, as it creates a chain reaction that leads to him unleashing speedy combinations one after another. Joshua’s chin and stamina are so poor that he can’t handle more than one hard attack from Ruiz without hitting the deck.