By Aragon Garcia: Andy Ruiz Jr. revealed on Friday that he’s already started training for his rematch with former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion on December 7. Earlier today, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn announced the location of the rematch in saying that it’ll be taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) subsequently said he’s already getting a jump on his early training for the rematch, because his goal is to be thinner for the second fight.
Ruiz, 29, took the fight on two weeks’ notice last June, and promptly knocked Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) out in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ruiz Jr. weighed in at a chubby 268 pounds for that fight, but it didn’t matter. His power, cardio, chin and boxing skills was light years ahead of Joshua’s.
Ruiz says he’s starting training camp early for Joshua rematch
“Get skinny, that’s the whole plan. That’s the goal,” Ruiz Jr. said to Fighthype in talking about what his training for his December 7th rematch with Joshua. “That’s why I’m going to be in training camp sooner than we planned.”
Ruiz Jr. doesn’t say how much weight he plans on losing for the rematch, but it’s possible that he could come into the fight in the 240s. He’s done well at that weight. With a record of 33-1, Ruiz Jr. has fought at a high level no matter how much he’s weighed for his fights. Ruiz’s only career loss was a controversial 12 round majority decision that he suffered against Joseph Parker in his hometown in New Zealand in 2016. Boxing News scored that fight for Ruiz Jr. eight rounds to three. The scoring for that fight was off.
Joshua is trying to take off muscle weight, and he’s likely going to come into the rematch in the 240s. In 2015, Joshua gassed out in his fight against Dillian Whyte, and he weighed 245 pounds for that fight. That fight showed that Joshua gasses even in his mid-240s. The lowest that Joshua has weighed was 229 pounds against Hrvoje Kisicek in his first year as a pro in 2013. Joshua looked fast in that fight in knocking out Kisicek in the second round. For Joshua to get back down to that weight, he would need to lose close to 20 pounds of muscle weight, which wouldn’t be easy for him to do. He weighed 247 pounds for his fight with Ruiz.
Gomez says Joshua vs. Ruiz 2 could end same way as first fight
“It’s incredible. That’s why people love boxing. Anything can happen,” said Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez to Fighthype in talking about Ruiz’s upset win over Joshua. “On paper, you think you’re going to have a clear winner, and it never happens that way. That’s what’s beautiful about boxing. Anyone has a chance. You cannot measure a great heart. And, you can measure his size, and his weight, but heart, you can’t measure. You know, I think it could end up the same way,” said Gomez in predicting another knockout win for Ruiz Jr. over Joshua.
Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez has a feeling that the Joshua-Ruiz Jr. rematch will wind up exactly like the first fight. Gomez likes the huge heart that Ruiz Jr. showed last June, and he feels that could be the deciding factor in the second fight.
Andy Ruiz is in Joshua’s head said Gomez
“I think Anthony is going to have to dig deep to win the rematch, because I think Andy Ruiz is in his head,” said Gomez. “We’ll see what happens. That’s a good fight. It’s a toss-up. Anyone can win. Anthony Joshua is the bigger, taller guy. He’s got the reach. And he’s going to have to keep him at bay. He’s going to have to throw double and triple jabs, not just one jab at a time. That’s the way to try and keep him at bay. He’s going to have to land shots from far away,” said Gomez.
Gomez brings up a good point in saying that Ruiz Jr. is in Joshua’s head, because he looks like his self confidence has been completely shattered. In Joshua’s recent interview with JD Sport, he had a 1000 yard stare, and shell-shocked from his knockout loss to Ruiz. Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has surmised that Joshua has mental problems that need to be addressed before he shares the ring with Ruiz again. Joshua hasn’t talked about wanting to see a sports doctor to help him work through the tough experience, but perhaps he will. It’s pretty obvious though that Joshua is thinking about Ruiz both night and day. Joshua likely goes to bed at night with the replay of his knockout loss to Ruiz haunting him, giving him sleepless nights.
Ruiz Jr. needs to throw combinations to beat Joshua
“For Andy Ruiz, he’s going to have to do the same thing he did. He’s going to have to get inside, and not just throw one punch. Throw punches in bunches, and find a way to get past that jab,” said Gomez.
Ruiz Jr. isn’t going to beat Joshua or any elite fighter by throwing one punch at a time. Andy is a combination puncher, and he’s going to be looking to get inside on Joshua to put together three and four punch combinations. Joshua is going to have his hands full trying to stop Ruiz from getting close to him, because he’s not good at moving around the ring. Joshua can move a little, but not nearly enough to evade a fighter like Ruiz.