I think he was very lucky that AJ went all out for the KO after he dropped him. That gave Ruiz the opportunity to land that left hook on AJ's head that I don't think he ever recovered from. I predict in the rematch that AJ will box smart and win rather easily.
I agree with you on this. I just recently watched the fight again and think Joshua will win the rematch fairly comfortably. He rushed in for the kill too early.
Ruiz knows what to do. It's like Foreman/Frazier, the kayo might take longer this time (only because Joshua will be better prepared) but inevitable imo. All respect to everyone here (I mean that), but to me Joshua is only a tiny notch above an (imo already beaten) Fury. Thus, I think Ruiz could beat Fury...but I see Deontay smashing Andy out.
All that said, I'm completely ready and more than willing to have Anthony prove me dead wrong. A kayo by Anthony of Andy would change more than a few things I think about the former...big time. I just think AJ, like Smokin' Joe, got massively impacted by that kayo and don't think he'll completely recover. Just my opinion, no offense meant to fans of AJ.
I tend to agree with the OP. There are things that a very large and powerful fighter like AJ can do to make it very hard for a shorter and lesser-reached fighter like Ruiz to win. Namely, the Wlad blueprint. However, Ruiz does have what seems to be a steel chin and heavy, accurate combinations, so I think he may well win the rematch anyway.
Solid reasoning. I think Ruiz has AJ's number now, though. Imo AJ never got any nearer to ATG than any of the other champs of today. Put a prime Wlad in the mix...hell, even a prime Bowe, and there would be one champ again imo.
Cool - really interesting to read that. Great prediction, and not just a lucky guess either - considered breakdown which ultimatley proved correct. Great work.
That just shows Joshua just can't take a good punch. He had 3 full rounds with less activity to recover. In fact I think it was the 5th or 6th where he came out straight to Ruiz smiling and landed a good punch. Fact of the matter is Ruiz realized he could take Joshua's best shots and just walked him down to a KO.