What If Joshua Had Gone for the Kill?

It would have been a huge mistake. It's a huge mistake to trade blows with a fighter who has much better chin and much faster hands

 

Huge mistake.. Ruiz was very dangerous when Joshua tried to drop or clinch him...

 

The difference this time around was that Joshua respected Ruiz and knew what he was capable of.

You don't want to trade with Ruiz up close, he's very fast and very tough.

Would have been foolish by Joshua if he did this, so i'm glad he didn't!

 

He most likely would’ve got caught and touched the canvas.

 

No doubt a big mistake. Every time joshua threw a power right hand ruiz would fire back with two or three shots, even in the later rounds. The problem with AJ is he leans forward firing a hard right hand which makes him enter Ruiz's zone of fire. That's why he was throwing mostly left hands, because he doesn't have that klitchko or lewis balance.

 

He wanted to at times but he was dead right not to go gunho.

A defeat would of have been disastrous and placed him right at the bottom. No need to risk it with so much at stake.

 

I think he could have. Ruiz was there to be hit.

 

I think he did go in for the kill once or twice, Ruiz chin is crazy. I think it might be up there with Parker's or Wachs', and Chisora

 

At 237lbs Joshua didn't seem to phase Ruiz as much. I was actually expecting him to set off a crazy combo and put Ruiz down at least once. Maybe Ruiz was more durable at 282 than he was at 267. That massive punch that cut his eye, most heavyweights would have hit the deck.

 

Like others I think it would have been foolish to try for the ko starting at round 9 and would have given Ruiz his only chance to win. Up to round 8 Joshua hadn't done enough to render Ruiz harmless by that point. Had he shown more self belief and "put his foot on the gas a little more" ( thanks teddy ) Ruiz may have been ready to go by 9. I would have preferred Joshua to let his fists do the talking rather than him flapping his lips. This business first mindset may prove to be AJ's undoing when he meets up with Wilder. After this fight I'm giving the mental edge to Wilder when they meet up.

As for it being a mediocre fight, it takes 2 to tango and why risk your life, literally. There have been at least 4 deaths this year alone in boxing, there are real consequences to every punch they take.

 

Joshua fought the right fight. If he had tried to KO Ruiz, he would have just gotten stopped again.

 

He could easily get hurt bad again, ruiz is a top notch brawler style boxer with a giant pumpkin head so he can take a shot. Add on top he's twenty stone so he has real power, the way to beat him is at long range so why give him a chance. The only time Joshua looked in any sort of danger was at close range.

 

Ruiz would have countered and stopped him, every punch that Ruiz landed shook AJ.