By Allan Fox: Anthony Joshua wasn’t happy at hearing that Tyson Fury advised him to retire if he loses to Andy Ruiz Jr. in their rematch on December 7th. Fury believes that it would be time for former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) to walk away from the game if he suffers a second defeat at the hand of Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) in their fight in Saudi Arabia.
Many fans think Joshua should retire if he loses to Ruiz
Fury isn’t the only one that’s recommending that Joshua hang up his gloves if he loses again. There are a lot of boxing fans out there that think Joshua’s 15 minutes of fame is now up, and it’s all going to be losses for him each time he steps up against talented opposition. When you have hordes of fans saying a fighter should retire, it’s not a good sign.
It’s not that Joshua is a shot fighter. He can still punch, and he has a lot of ability in his 6’6″ frame. But he’s now facing high quality opposition, and things might not go his way from this point forward.
Joshua says who is Fury to tell him to retire?
“Who is he to talk?” said Joshua said to IFL TV when told that Tyson Fury says he should retire if he loses the Ruiz rematch. “Did he help me get into boxing to tell me when I should leave at? No one can tell me when to retire except for me. That’s how I look it. Unless you were the one to take me into boxing like my old man was the one that took me down to the gym. If he had, son, I think you should retire.’ If no one helped me get into it should tell me when to get out of it,” said Joshua.
Joshua obviously believes he’ll be able to turn things around eventually no matter what happens to him in the rematch with Ruiz. AJ likely isn’t even contemplating the possibility of him losing to Ruiz a second time. Joshua has been winning for so long, it’s hard for him to view himself losing again. What Joshua doesn’t realize is he could have lost to Wladimir Klitschko quite easily. That would have been a loss for Joshua too if Wladimir had gone for the kill after hurting him in the 6th.
In Joshua’s fight with Dillian Whyte in 2015, he would have been beaten if not for Dillian suffering a shoulder injury in the 2nd round. Joshua was gassed and hurt in round 2 after getting clipped by a big left hook from Dillian. It took Joshua three rounds before he finally got his second wind, and was able to finish him. Had the injury not occurred to Whyte, he probably would have beaten Joshua.
Ruiz is the best heavyweight says Joshua
“No excuses. He beat me, and he deserves everything that comes his way,” said Joshua about Ruiz. “He’s the best champion out there right now. I’m going to fight him, and I’m going to have another champion on my record. If it was only about the money. Why didn’t they speak about it in my early days after Charles Martin and after [Wladimir] Klitschko. Why now? I didn’t have to go to New York [to fight Ruiz]. It wasn’t a mandatory. I wasn’t told. I thought New York was a good option.
How come he didn’t say that before the Ruiz fight?” said Joshua when told that Deontay Wilder wants Tyson Fury to step aside so he can fight the winner of the Joshua-Ruiz rematch. “Now we’re talking about Lennox Lewis situation. I didn’t appreciate how he was speaking about me in the media. So this is how I address you back, because you don’t call me. So I address you back in the media. As a boxer, he was a bad boy boxer. I’m not searching for anyone to reach out and help me,” said Joshua.
It’s still not proven who the #1 heavyweight is in the division. Ruiz is one of the best, but he still hasn’t fought WBC champion Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Whyte or Oleksandr Usyk. Once all those fighters face each other, then we can determine who the #1 heavyweight is in the division.
The Gloves Are Off: Ruiz v Joshua 2 – Coming Soon to Sky Sports! 💥 pic.twitter.com/LtFuQ8FSjo
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) September 6, 2019
AJ never considered not taking Ruiz rematch
“No, no, no,” said Joshua when asked if he ever considered not taking the rematch with Ruiz. “When you look at it; you’ve got Charles Martin champion, Povetkin Champion, Takam, Parker, Povetkin, Parker champion, and Andy Ruiz Jr. champion. So he’s the best. Who else is out there to fight? He’s the best person out there for me to fight. It’s not about the belts,” said Joshua.
Joshua is using faulty logic in giving his rationale for taking the rematch with Ruiz. Just because Joshua beat former heavyweight champions Martin, Povetkin and Parker doesn’t mean that it means he can beat Ruiz. We already saw that Ruiz beat Parker handily, but was a victim of poor scoring in their fight in New Zealand. Povetkin hasn’t been a world champion for a while, and he’s up there in age at 39.
Charles Martin was considered a paper champion when Joshua fought him in April 2016, and he’s done nothing since with his career. None of those guys are as good as Ruiz. That’s why Joshua is making false assumptions by believing he can beat Ruiz, because he defeated those guys. Ruiz is a much better fighter than Martin, Povetkin and Parker.
Joshua blames loss to Ruiz on “glitch”
“I don’t hate the man. He come into the ring and did what he had to do as a challenger, so You have to give the man credit and respect,” said Joshua about Ruiz during Thursday’s round table in New York. “Now I’m on the other side of the fence. I’m going to go do what I’ve got to do. And, I’m not going to over complicate the situation. I’m going to simply it, and do what I have to do in 22 fights I had. My blueprint worked. In my 23rd fight, I had a little glitch in the matrix. I’ll get it right, and we’ll go again. What’s interesting is I’m not hearing about any other fighter right now, you know? I’m hearing about Ruiz, and that’s what’s important, and blessing as well.
It’s not about staying down. It’s about pulling yourself back up. Even when the whole world is against you, and doesn’t believe in you no more, you pull yourself back up no matter how much it takes. When you go to war, you need more than one thing in your toolbox. That time it didn’t work. Now I’ve got to sharpen my other tools,” said Joshua.
The blueprint that Joshua used to win his first 22 fights was always one that was full of holes, and not solid enough for him to beat a talented heavyweight. With all the flaws in Joshua’s game, you’ve got to give him credit for making it this far. Eddie Hearn deserves a big thanks for that. It was Hearn’s skilled match-making that allowed Joshua to win his first 22 fights. Of course, there was a lot of luck involved too. Wladimir would have beaten Joshua if he’d gone after if once he had him hurt. It was dumb luck on Joshua’s part that Whyte suffered a shoulder injury after he hurt him with a left hook i the 2nd.
Joshua speaks about trimming down
“Even though it’s a short amount of time, that’s why I’ve trimmed down, because nothing is more important to me in these three months is sharpening the tools I left out the box rather than just coming in strong and fit,” said Joshua. “The same things would have happened. You noticed a change, because I’ve been working on those other aspects. I’ve never looked at my weight for fight night. It’s more about feeling. How do I feel in sparring. That’s the ultimate preparation for a fight. For Ruiz, I’ll know how I feel when I get the right sparring in, and tell my coach, ‘This is how I’m feeling.’ Then we’ll figure out a weight once the training adapts to it,” said Joshua.
“Not necessarily,” said Joshua when asked if Ruiz looks heavier. “Ruiz is a big boy anyway. The bigger they are the harder they punch. He’s got a certain style that he just needs his feet planted for him to land a good shot. The heavier he is the better he is. I think this training camp will be about being fitter, quicker. My training camp will be about being better, and slicker. This is a camp in general. Going into the camp already ready. I can spar right now,” said Joshua.
Joshua is doing the right thing in trimming down for the rematch with Ruiz. He’s not going to beat Ruiz with all that muscle mass that he’d been carrying around for the last six years.