Just watched an interview with Joshua on SSN and he looks like he might be full of doubt. He doesn’t seem to be saying anything with any conviction. Says he has to prove things to himself etc. It just seemed a bit iffy to me. On a side note, when did his nose get that bad? I know he broke it against Takam and since (can’t remember who vs) but I’d never noticed it that bad.
Ruiz broke it, and I think Povetkin did a job on it too. It seems to be an issue in his recent fights where he ends up dabbing at it.
Didn’t notice it go against Ruiz (haven’t watched it back in a while) but do remember it making the Takam fight a struggle so that would make sense. That analysis was super interesting, good to hear old pros talk about the technical side.
I can’t say it with too much conviction but it was dripping blood during Ruiz and he was dabbing at it. It does seem to be more of an issue with bleeding in recent years, which will make it harder to breathe during fights.
Haha! Yeah, poor Maths but I guess his point still stands, it’s a lot more in the US. Completely different market though. It’d be interesting to see what Joshua sells at £50 though ha. Bet a lot of mugs would still pay that.
Are Joshua’s statements an instance of faux confidence, mind games or genuine confidence that he will win? Trying to channel his inner Ali lol. I think he’ll win but not sure what to make of this “bow down” talk. If he does win I’d like him to go mental on the trash talk and ego talk in the ring post-fight.
I really enjoyed this show, David Haye and Malignaggi in particular made some really good points. Joshua has had to do an awful lot of learning in a short space time. His size, athleticism and his mentality in how he uses them attributes effectively have made him a success along with the guidance of Hearn. If Martin doesn’t pick a gift world title up, I’m not sure things move so rapidly for Joshua. My mind has changed so many times since June 1st regarding the outcome of a rematch. At first, I believed that Ruiz simply has Joshua’s number, and in a way I still think stylistically he is all wrong for Joshua...but, I do think Joshua was too relaxed and didn’t respect the challenge in front of him. This was exacerbated by Ruiz’s humble, nice guy demeanour. This time he fully respects the challenge in front of him. There’s a different kind of pressure now and he doesn’t have to feel like he has to spectacularly ice Ruiz, he doesn’t have to put on a clinic, he just has to win at whatever cost and however ugly. What will be interesting is whether Joshua has mentally recovered from getting splattered by a fat lad or will he start to panic the first time Ruiz chins him? That’s the biggy for me. If he panics he gasses, if he gasses then he’s getting stopped again. If he can keep his composure, avoid throwing hooks and be content in jabbing and holding then he can get the belts back.
It should be a simple pick really and that is Ruiz. We can only go on what we have seen and we saw Ruiz beat Joshua up. What has happened between now and then, we can only speculate. Had Joshua had a fight inbetween we may have been wiser but as of right now we should logically pick Ruiz.
