Do you think AJ still fills stadiums after this or is the bubble burst. No doubt the attempt to make him a star in America has backfired after the Pillsbury Doughboy sparked him. All social media reaction in the US is that he’s a punchline because a fat boy manhandled him, but will Brits still look at him like a god who walks the earth? I’m genuinely curious.
I think the novelty of the 80,000 stadium fights was already wearing off, and after Povetkin they would have struggled to get 80,000 for anyone that wasn't Wilder, Fury or Whyte. I think the rematch can do the same but after that it has to be one of the big names.
Yes for now he can. But if he losss his next fight he could become a Price like figure. This is why I really think he would be idiotic to jump into an immediate rematch with Ruiz.
Depends if you were a Joshua hater before then of course you will be more of one now. But if you were a fan, the likelihood is he will be backed even more by Brits, Generally we back our own against adversity, that's the British way. But a lot depends on the rematch, if he wins it's a great comeback and on he goes like it never happened. If he loses a rematch he's still a draw in Britain even if he becomes less so in the U.S Maybe he will end up like bruno, he was never the best but was adored by his country. End of the day he's a likeable guy so I would be disappointed if and fans turned against him now.
A comeback fight in a stadium could be huge but the problem is it would need to be in UK and their plan is to crack America, and that's all part of this DAZN bollocks, I am sure Eddie N Big Josh wish they could get Wembley, pack it to the rafters and blast out "Sweet Caroline" and normal service would be resumed KO'ing someone on a Apples N Pears PPV show !
The rematch with Ruiz over here would sell out Cardiff/Wembley easy. The casuals won't desert him just yet.
He has to though, it’s do or die time right now. If he can’t beat ruiz then it’s time to leave the game, he’s made enough money.
Is the rematch not huge? Who wouldn't want to see that again? I'm sure the rematch would fill a stadium. If he wins, I'm sure his following fight could also be a stadium fight against decent opposition. If he loses rematch, he won't sell out a stadium unless it's against Fury or Wilder. It echoes Hearn's comments about the pressure of winning the rematch. I can't wait for it myself.
In 2 years he’ll be B side to Price in the Echo arena. Career over after Price knocks him out the ring into his last few adoring fans laps.
How the rematch goes is crucial to how the rest of Joshua's career goes. If he beats Ruiz convincingly and KOs him emphatically, his career shouldn't be damaged too much and maybe just delays his progression by 6-12 months. The defeat and comeback will just add to his "journey" and should be nothing more than a setback. BUT if that was a fully fit and prepared Joshua, then he's in big trouble. He will no longer have the intimidation and fear factor that he's previously had. I've nothing against Joshua, the boxer and person that he his, but I'm buzzing after his loss, it's shook up the whole division and made some more interesting fights. For example, I wasn't interested in Joshua vs Ruiz in the slightest, now I can't wait for the rematch and really can't predict how it will go now. Now Joshua is at crossroads in his career for his next fight. If he wins, the loss will eventually be forgotten. If he loses again, he goes from a potential ATG, to just another decent heavyweight contender, who had a real good purple patch early on in his career. He was the main man yesterday, now he's found himself in a new place in the heavyweight pecking order, and he's outside of the top dogs now because of the manner in which he lost. For a neutral fan, it's no bad thing. The rematch is such an interesting fight now. It could determine whether Joshua goes on to be someone who lives on after retirement, or just another prospect who showed some really early signs of greatness. The rematch is now huge, and even though I do think Joshua will win it, I have no confidence that he will, and now there's a lot more fights that interest me now. Andy Ruiz genuinely shook up the world, how exciting!
Fans like real boxers who bounce back after experiencing setbacks in their career. It would be a great story if AJ had a tune up or two, came back, won another title by beating Fury/Wilder/Ruiz. So yes to your question.
The rematch is huge and will probably take place in a stadium- if Joshua loses that he really is in David Price territory after the two defeats to Tony Thompson (obviously at a higher level). The mind and his heart may grow out of love with boxing ultimately. I doubt Joshua would want to fight fringe contenders endlessly which he may have to do to get back into the mix. On last night’s performance literally the whole of the top ten would fancy a crack at Joshua and the majority would win. I doubt Sky could keep putting Joshua on PPV to fight the likes of Chisora- the demand just wouldn’t be there if he lost multiple times. If he wins the rematch he’s heavyweight champion again and likely would fight Pulev early next year with this blip largely behind him.
The rematch is make or break, he has to take it now If he wins, it will be like GSP's loss to Matt Serra, GSP went on to dominate for years to come. If he loses, he might as well retire as he will go to journeyman status (like Rich Franklin lost to Anderson Silva twice).
If he loses no way in hell he goes to Journeyman status that is ridiculous ! One of the worst posts I have seen on Joshua's defeat and I don't even like Joshua as a boxer but that's bollocks !
If i was running AJ’s career right now, I’d put him back at the O2, against a couple of lads like Kabayel or a Trevor Bryan before Christmas. I’d let Ruiz go and defend his belts against someone else then fight him or whoever has the belts in April next year at Wembley. Forget PPV’s, the lad is absolutely minted. Give the fans something back, improve in camp, win a couple of tick-overs back to back then relaunch next year. They won’t do this though because money talks, and they’ll convince themselves it was just an off night when the reality was, Ruiz took some thunderous shots off AJ but stayed in front of him and smashed him with his own power and hand speed.
