Joshua does not take a good shot, period. Wlad hit him once and not only had him almost out but it took multiple rounds for him to come back. He goes not get dropped and spring up like a Patterson or a Tito , he suffers long term ripples like a John Tate or late career Roy Jones .. I don't like it at all. Ruiz has very good speed and throws combos .. I happen to really like Joshua but feel very uncomfortable about that fight and how he's acted ever since .. in the fight he had a look in his eyes to me like McCallum in the Benn fight ..since the loss he has been emotionally all over the place, talking , apologizing, predicting, gaining weight, losing weight .. to me he seems as lost as Foreman did post Zaire .. the rematch will hinge on two things .. the first is how absurdly stacked the deck Hearns manipulates in Joshuas favor. Who the hell knows what will go on over there .. the second is Ruiz's conditioning .. he's been living a very charmed life .. forget what he looks like , will he be in top shape ? If he is I see nothing Joshua can do.
1) Wlad does not take a good shot either. Initially most of us thought that Wlad's career may have been over in 2005 but he adjusted and made improvements and turned it all around and became champion and ruled. Joshua can do the same. 2) Foreman Post Zaire did have a moment of truth when he went against Ron Lyle. I would favor AJ to win the rematch and if he does, I'd favor him to unify the belts. If he loses? This is as good as he's ever going to get.
1. Wlad was not musclebound and boxed .. let's see if Joshua can do that. 2. I'm not doubting Joshua's heart in the ring at all, I don't like how lost he seems. That was my analogy to Foreman.
Me either, he hasn't been the same since Wlad fight. Then when this happened: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/...sts-help-navy-seals-sportspsychologist-ahead/ I had an uneasy feeling about the fight. But didn't think Ruiz could pull it off. I actually caught it live at MSG.
I'm with you there, too many questions to ask about what version we're getting of both Ruiz and Joshua, I'm not even coming close to trying to make a call, myself. If they're both fully motivated and have their heads clear, I'll give Ruiz a slight advantage, as it's tough to look past Ruiz getting the best of Joshua in the exchanges in the first one. But if Joshua decides to take more of a conservative approach, he could well smother Ruiz and make it tough for him to turn it into a scrap. Intriguing bout in a lot of ways, wish it was in MSG again, I'd go see them fight again no matter what if it was there.
I got Joshua this time around. The first fight wasn't a fluke and it did indeed expose Joshua in my opinion, but I think he'll adjust and win the rematch. Prediction: Joshua KO 7 Confidence: ~75%
Is that opposed to your brain usually being wrong? Obviously I'm joking but I wish mine was. I'm ****ing **** at predictions. I got every fight on the Campbell Loma card wrong.
I've no idea which way this is going to go. The only results I don't forsee is Ruiz on points or a draw. The other three (Ruiz by KO, Joshua by KO or Joshua on points) all seem quite likely outcomes. Just don't know which it will be. I'll go with Joshua by KO but with zero confidence.
My biggest concern with Joshua, is that he seems to have lost his hunger, and that never ends well for a champion. People in the know have criticized his training regime for some time, due to its focus on strength, and lack of sparring.. To make matters worse, the blueprint for beating him in now out there, and he can't put that genie back into the bottle. He should be able to beat Ruiz in theory, but it will require a major rethink of direction, and we just don't know whether that has happened yet!
