If you managed AJ how would you move forward?

It’s do or die for AJ, I’d he can’t beat Ruiz then he should quit. Not because Ruiz is a bad fighter but because it would be pointless for him to step back down the levels for peanuts when he’s already made millions.

 

I heard plumbing is a great profession in Britain, just ask David Price...

 

Tyson came crashing down from being undisputed in 1990. But he still kept fighting till 2005. No reason for AJ to quit boxing so early yet, he can still fight for atleast another 5-6 years.

 

impossible to say, without being privy to the Joshua camp. Some believe Joshua was as good as can be, taking Ruiz seriously. Others think that there were problems. Depending on which camp you fall into will likely effect your decision.

 

I think you have to take the rematch, I do think AJ is capable of beating Ruiz but its definitely a make or break fight but dont think unless its a Fury or Joshua fight the public would be interested. There will also be the "but he lost to Ruiz" if its anyone else and I dont think AJ could go on with that.

 

Wilder even

 

no and i'll tell you why

this is a case of an awkward hard hitting strong chinned fighter going up against a straight up and down boxer/puncher ..who seems to have had chin and stamina issues .. ruiz is all wrong for AJ .. it's the marcos midana vs mayweather deal all over again ..only AJ isn't mayweather he wont make the adjustments he doesn't have the stamina to keep going .. all ruiz has to do is break him down and the guy knows AJ's gas tank is gonna run dry .. ruiz is all wrong for AJ stay the hell away from him ..he just can't make the adjustments

 

Definitely an immediate rematch. If they don't then it will be quite a while before Joshi gets another shot at the belts, as they either have to become mandatory and wait in line, or pay the current holder (either Wilder or Ruiz) a shirtload of money.

 

but he's a younger man .. he can take the confidence builders for a year year and a half ..and come back when ruiz is possibly out of the picture .. I just don't see AJ having anything for Ruiz ..you can't make a man put in work to build the needed stamina and you sure jolly well hell can't train a man to take a punch better... Ruiz aint for AJ .. some guys get in their and it's like grease hitting a skillet ...

 

Probably because there was no rematch clause. He got KO'ed by Rahman and rematched him immediately.

 

No rematch. Ruiz will counter him and KO him again. Ruiz has learned after the Parker fight to go at it and let his hands go. That's what he did in the AJ match. If you think Ruiz will let AJ hide behind the jab, you will be sorely mistaken.

I'd look for a new trainer to work on AJ's fundamentals. Bring in ppl to slim AJ down and raise his stamina. Those muscles do nothing for him. That's for starters.

 

High risk but he has no option but to take the rematch. Hearn has marketed him as this all-conquering Adonis, wrecking ball, KO artist and the general sporting public in the UK lapped it up. Then he got beat by a fat bloke they'd never heard of who took the fight at late notice. The only way to rebuild from here is to right that (perceived) wrong as soon as possible because, although people like us know Ruiz is the real deal, he doesn't look like it, and in the world of the image-obsessed AJ brand, how things look are far more important than how things are in reality.

And Hearn can't really work the 'Ruiz is ducking Joshua' angle the way he did with Wilder and Fury because Ruiz stepped in as a late replacement and proved in doing so, he's prepared to fight anyone.

Then there's the Matchroom angle: they are nothing in the US without a belt-holding Joshua and Hearn's position in DAZN is undermined too by this loss, unless AJ gets those titles back as soon as possible.

Tie all that together and there's only one path the Matchroom/AJ/Sky triumvirate can go...

 

Good thread and I'm going to keep it as objective as possible.

There's no real alternative this point than to try and get the rematch with as favourable conditions as possible. The entire Joshua brand is at stake here (it really is) if he doesn't get them back ASAP. If he took the rest of the year off and fought cans in a rebuild, the division would just move on and he'd be frozen out by PBC and Warren.

The terms are so crucial to this though and probably where Haymon is going to squeeze Hearn till the pips squeak on absolutely everything as it will just undermine Joshua's confidence and frustrate the whole process.

So in short, yeah an immediate rematch but the stakes are massive.