By Scott Gilfoid: Andy Ruiz Jr. says he wants to tell Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn that he’s “sorry for beating” Anthony Joshua last June, and that he’s going to do it again on December 7th. Ruiz destroyed Joshua in 7 rounds, and had him quitting after dropped twice at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Hearn appeared to take the loss harder than Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) for some reason. Eddie had talked of Joshua carrying the heavyweight division on his back for the next 10 years as a world champion. Instead, Joshua, 29, saw his reign end abruptly after just 3 years as the heavyweight champ. The gravy train was supposed to last for Hearn for 10 years.
Instead of taking the high road and giving Ruiz credit for his win over AJ, has been blamed the loss on a “lucky punch” from the Gods. That was just one excuse by Eddie.
Hearn also blamed the loss on Joshua not having adequate preparation for Ruiz’s fighting style, because he was brought in as replacement. Joshua was scheduled to fight Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, but he was taken off the card after failing a drug test.
Ruiz apologizes to Hearn for beating Joshua
“I had an opportunity, and I took advantage of it to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world,” said Ruiz to IFL TV. “I just think I needed the right moment and the right opportunity to prove who Andy Ruiz is. Thank you Eddie Hearn for giving me the opportunity.
“I’m sorry for beating Anthony Joshua. That’s what we’re planning to do on December 7th. So don’t get your hopes up, because this chubby kid is training really hard. I would have loved to have run it back in New York City. No matter where it’s at, it’s only me and him inside the ring,” said Ruiz.
If Ruiz keeps knocking out Joshua left and right, he’s going to sound like a broken record apologizing to Hearn all the time. It might be better for Hearn to get a clue and move Joshua back a step to put in with lesser opposition. Hearn did a good job of building Joshua up with a 22-0 record, thanks to his careful match-making.
If Hearn can go back to putting Joshua in with guys like Charles Martin, he can turn him around. Obviously, he won’t be seen as the same guy as he was previously, but he’ll still be popular in the UK. Look Dereck Chisora (32-9). He fights on Sky Box pay-per-view in the UK, and he’s basically a journeyman.
Andy Ruiz Jr. says he’s 3 lbs lighter now than first Joshua fight
“There’s no help. They’ve been testing us every week,” said Ruiz about Joshua. “It’s only me and AJ inside the ring, and it’s whoever wants it. Whoever has that will and power will win the fight. There’s no way I’m going to take any PEDs, steroids. I’m still the chubby kid with energy. I’m just a naturally gifted person. Right, now I’m only three pounds less than when I fought Anthony Joshua.
“A lot of people were saying, ‘He looks too skinny, and he’s not going to be strong.’ Those are people that don’t really know about boxing. We’ve been looking really good inside the ring. I just want to be six pounds or eight pounds lighter than I was June 1st. That’s what the goal is now to be eight pounds lighter.
“It’s going to make me feel a lot better, and feel slicker and faster. And it’s going to tell on December 7th. Right now, it’s three pounds less. I weighed in at 268 for the Joshua fight, the first one. And I plan on being 260 for this fight. I don’t want to lose too much, because I want to be strong for December 7th.
“A lot of people are messaging me, saying, ‘Don’t lose too much weight.’ I know what I’m doing, and what we’re doing it for. I think Tyson Fury will be a really good fight after my fight on December 7th. I think it’s going to be the same outcome,” said Ruiz in predicting that Wilder will beat Ortiz,” said Ruiz.
Joshua and Hearn can’t count on Ruiz being weakened by weight loss on December 7th if they want to win. They need a good game plan, and it doesn’t sound like they’re going to have one.
Joshua wasting his time if he changes fighting style – Ruiz
“It depends on how he fights the fight,” said Ruiz about what he’ll do against Joshua on December 7th. “If he tries to box around, I’m going to have to cut off the ring and throw my combinations. But if he wants to attack and exchange punches, that’ll be even more fun for the fans. The fans want to see us get knocked out, and see us get hurt. They want to see action. So hopefully there’s a lot of action on December 7th with me getting the victory. I did see that he trimmed down, and lost a bit of weight. I don’t know if that’s good for him.
“I’ve seen a lot of fights of him, and he’s not good at boxing around. I know he’s been practicing, and he’s been working. But inside the ring, it’s different. It can’t be that quick to learn those skills. Whatever he has up his sleeve, it’s up to me not to let him do that. Right now, he’s a little bit pressured. He’s focused on getting the belts back, and he’s worried about other stuff. He wouldn’t have picked this fight for nothing,” said Ruiz.
You hate to say it but Ruiz is probably right about Joshua not having enough time to change his fighting style. It takes years for fighters to adopt a new fighting style, and Joshua only has eight weeks to do it. You can’t count Joshua’s fight against Joseph Parker as one in which he showed a different style. That match was tainted by the way the referee kept Parker from getting in close to land shots. What are the odds that there will be another referee like that to stop Ruiz from getting in punching range against AJ?
Ruiz hopes Joshua will come to fight on December 7th
“Hopefully, he brings it on December 7th, because I’m going to do whatever it takes to retain those belts, and bring them back over here,” said Ruiz. “I think it was all motivation when I said, ‘Hey can I hold them [the belts],’ and he said, ‘Yeah.’ A lot of people were saying, ‘Andy, it’s bad luck if you hold the belts.’
“They were telling Anthony Joshua, ‘Hey, it’s bad luck if you let him hold your belts.’ I think that’s all fairy-tale stuff. It’s either you got it or you don’t. I think when I held those belts, I was thinking, ‘You know what, these are going to be mine.” I started praying until they became mine,” said Ruiz.
It’s highly unlikely Joshua will even attempt to slug with Ruiz, because he doesn’t have the chin, stamina or the inside fighting ability. If Joshua even tries to mix it up with Ruiz in the fight, we’re going to get a repeat of the last time. Joshua isn’t going to forget what happened to him last June when he made the mistake of slugging with Ruiz. For that reason, you can look for Joshua to use these tactics against Ruiz for 12 rounds:
- Holding at every opportunity
- Jabbing
- Moving
- Throwing one punch at a time
- Conserving energy
- Staying away from the ropes
Oleksandr Usyk doesn’t scare Ruiz
“I think that’s going to be a good fight,” said Ruiz about a potential match between Oleksandr Usyk and Dereck Chisora. “He [Usyk] still has a little more to improve at heavyweight. It’s a lot different than cruiserweight. He looked alright in his last fight against a guy that hasn’t fought in I don’t know how long, and he took the punches well. I think Usyk is a really good fighter, and really skilled fighter. He’s a lefty, and boxes around.
“It can be difficult for a lot of people [to fight Usyk]. Of course, I think he’s the mandatory for the WBO. I’m not scared of nobody, and not ducking nobody. I’m here to fight the best, because that’s how we remain the best. That would be a good fight between me and Usyk as well, said Ruiz.
Well, if former unified cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 11 KOs) takes a warm-up fight against Chisora, Ruiz won’t have to worry about defending against him. Usyk will lose to Chisora, and then be forgotten. That guy can’t punch at all, and he clearly doesn’t belong at heavyweight. Usyk’s performance against Chazz Witherspoon last October showed clearly that he’s not cut out for the heavyweight division. He’s too small, weak and slow.