Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua II RBR.

Too bad Chubby Tits won't be able to deal with the new and explosive AJ 2.0

 

Anyone know what time we can expect actual undercard bouts to begin?

 

Around 3 to 4 hours I think.

 

DAZN undercard starts at 12pm EST

 

I wonder if Hrgovic v Molina could be better than expected...

 

It could be, but it won't.

 

I've no idea how this will pan out. I can think of numerous good arguments in both directions and am just looking forward to seeing a really intriguing Heavyweight Title fight.

The weight gain might mean Ruiz is about to do a Buster Douglas or it might have been planned all along, the pictures of a slimmed down Ruiz six weeks ago being deliberate subterfuge. It could also have been a late adjustment once they realised how much Joshua was slimming, a judgement that to beat a trim AJ would require a significant weight advantage for Ruiz.

It's a lot of weight to give away on Joshua's part and may sow seeds of doubt in his head. Ruiz will be packing some power and I doubt his hand speed or range finding will be much diminished if at all.

That said the ring is 22ft, 2ft bigger than is allowed in the UK. It's up to the lighter and more mobile Joshua to leverage this and everything else in his locker if he hopes to prevail.

Both fighters have the tools to win in spectacular fashion and both are vulnerable to their opponent's strengths. That's what makes it such a tasty and hard to call clash.

I've changed my mind so many times this week, there are just so many questions that can only be answered by tomorrow's fight.

I can't make up my mind if Joshua's meandering candour about coasting when winning and rediscovering his desire to learn the sweet science is the sign of a man about to go up a level or a man plagued by self doubt, whose bubble is about to burst big time.

The weigh in has left me unsure whether Ruiz has been distracted by fame and fortune or pulled one of the smartest and most unexpected weight changes of recent years for a fight of this magnitude.

I was leaning towards Joshua last night, thinking he can move, jab and occasionally grab to a points or late stoppage victory. But the second I thought that, I had to ask myself on what basis do I think AJ can avoid Ruiz's assaults all night and why wouldn't he revert to type when he's clipped and go glassy eyed and stiff?

Today I've woken up thinking Ruiz. In the last fight it was the body shots in the 6th round that truly emptied Joshua's tank. Now the abuser is heavier and the victim is lighter. Clinching isn't much of an option for Joshua now and Ruiz should still be able to cut off that ring.

I'm going Ruiz by stoppage in the 7th.

 

Molina looked good yesterday so hopefully it's a fun fight.

 

Ruiz, Sasha, Hrgović and Whyte all stop their opponents mid-late, IMO.

 

If so it would mean Hrgović isn't as good as we thought, and the division is even worse off.

 

How do you think Povetkin stops Hunter?