I am not kidding and maybe Ruiz would put Ward in a coma and maybe Ward could stink the fight up enough to pull out a decision. The fact that Ward is now saying that he considered fighting Joshua doesn't make the proposition of him fighting Ruiz that outlandish.
He would poleaxe him. I know many people have said that Kovalev punches like a HW, but Andy (while not the same degree of hitter as Krusher in a p4p sense, obviously) has quite a bit of mass on him, 6.5 stone to be precise, and isn't some relatively feather-fisted and slow-footed lump that's going to stand there like the other Ruiz did for RJJ. Oh, and Ward is no RJJ.
Exactly. Ward is great, but Ruiz is very good and not the sort of low-hanging fruit that would allow Ward to jump up and bag an easy HW title.
Compared to Ward, Ruiz is slow-footed. It's all relative. Ward would not just stand in front of Ruiz either and let him have a heavy bag workout. Other than the weight, there isn't that much of a difference in the height and reach of Ward and Ruiz. Ruiz may win but he wouldn't just walk through Ward like you seem to be suggesting.
Of course he would, dude. Joshua isn't exactly slow himself, and there was nowhere for him to go. Yes, he's slower than Ward, but the ring is only so big. Ruiz also has an exceptionally high ring IQ, and while not the same pedigree of amateur that Ward himself was, still had a wealth of high-level experience and decorations there before crossing over. So eventually Ruiz is going to cut the ring off and wail on Ward's guard and beat him about the sides and top of the head with those same ham-hock right hands that hurt Joshua, then what do you suppose happens? Ward's chin is excellent, aye, one might even say iron, but that's at super middle & light heavy. Ruiz weighs a hundred pounds north of that, and, once more, he knows how to hit, isn't just some untrained lug.
Joshua isn't slow, dude? What Joshua are we talking about? lol Joshua moves like the Mummy. You are right that eventually Ruiz would corner Ward and the question in my mind is whether Ward is strong enough to tie up Ruiz. Ward is fast and good enough to control the distance for the most part against Ruiz in my mind and that is what makes the fight interesting.
Kovalev isnt even THAT massive of a hitter anyways. Hes got very good power and very good skills. Combined together that made him a very high caliber fighter. But in terms of just sheer raw power Joe Smith Jr. Hits obviously and noticeably harder. Beterbiev probably hits just as hard and is 10 times stronger. And even Adonis Stevenson had similar levels of power but not close to the boxing skill.
Im a Ward fan (yeah we do exist lol) but I agree with this. I have a hard time believing that if Kovalev could legit drop Ward with one shot Ruiz can knock him out. Also Ruiz would not be fazed by Wards punches and he won't be able to wear Ruiz down with body shots like he did to Kovalev. Ruiz would absolutely have beaten Roy at HW. This dude can flat out fight and hes not going to get the respect he deserves until he destroys AJ again.
Would Roy Jones have beaten the Pillsbury Doughboy? I'm not sure. Pillsbury has fast enough hands to connect on Roy's glass.
Its one thing to tie up and wrestle LHWs and take an occasional LHw shot. But another to take a HW shot. Ward was dropped and jelly legged on the only semi flush (it was wrist to head) power right hand Kovalev landed. A 175 pound man dropped him hard and had him on shaky legs from one partially flush landed power shot. If Ruiz does that Ward is done. It's over. And no way in hell Ward outwrestles Ruiz inside like he did to Kovalev.
If Ward was active and in shape I wouldn’t count him out against Ruiz, since Ward has the ring IQ and timing to beat possibly beat Ruiz. I’ve seen Gavril get the upper hand on Ruiz and Arreola In sparring before. That said with Ward’s ring inactivity and age, who knows if his legs are any good anymore.
lol Greetings fellow Ward fan. Just because Kovalev dropped Ward once doesn't mean that Ruiz would knock him out. Ward is not an easy fighter to hit, especially against an opponent who is slower than he is. I don't consider myself downrating Ruiz. I think it is great that he beat Joshua and he seems to be a good person. I just think that a fight between him and Ward would be more competitive than the consensus seems to be on this board.
Ward was dropped very hard and heavy with the single lone semi flush right hand that Kovalev landed. Kovalev had to be wary of Wards power because even though Ward is a light hitter hes still about the same size as Kovalev. And Kovalev had a somewhat shaky chin. Ruiz is going to eventually just walk through Ward.
