Ruiz had control of the fight and was making Joshua do exactly what he wanted him to do. He started to get a little too confident himself and got into a position where Joshua was finally able to throw a decent combination from proper range that dropped Ruiz. A mistake that Ruiz made sure didn't happen twice. A mistake I don't see being repeated in the rematch. Ruiz by KO in 4 or 5.
Yes, I believe that was the case. People are massively overrating Ruiz and may be in for a bit of a reality check on the night if Joshua opts to box smart. Parker did so and won a decision, and Joshua has a lot more ring iq than him. The facts (as I see them) are that Ruiz is very good if fighters attempt to trade with him, but poor against fighters who opt to stay on the outside and make him come to them. He also lets himself get tied up too easily which Joshua can capitalise on. This is Joshua's fight to lose really.
Just watched the weigh in (I like both Ruiz and Joshua) and I know this might upset a lot of Ruiz fans but it wasn’t his weight that set alarm bells ringing, his body language was really bad too, he looked like someone trying too hard not to look nervous, his eyes were darting around and every break in the action (loosely based action) he looked down to the floor. Not great signs for me. On the face of it he looked calm for the stare down but I think he was pretty conscious of the eyes on him at that point. just an observation.
I disagree. I do agree with the commenators who said "Anthony Joshua is a composed and ferocious finisher Watch this! SO I count...Ruiz down at 2:16 he's up by count of (6) with 2:11 to go.. Ref says box at 2:04 left. pushed out 4 jabs..folowed with a str8 right-clocked Ruiz again at 1:59 left. (BUT) there is nothing being thrown that I could see as wreckless 1:57 why wouldn't he go for the finish? 1 he dropped Ruiz 2 he followed it up not with a flurry but with 4 jabs...then the right. He does exaclty what the old timer say after that right, follow up with the left hook. He did. However Ruiz was clear-minded and simply ducked at 1:56 left. They are both inside exchanging..and in the blink of an eye--- even though AJ fell at 1:47, he started getting clocked in the exchange which was a 5 second disparity. How is that wreckless? He did what he was supposed to have done, a calculating finish with a guy who was dropped then caught with the same shot. Only difference was Ruiz got that DOG in him, AJ doesn't. The end.
It was a flash knockdown. Ruiz weren't hurt. Joshua can hit the blob with 1 or 2 combos. But every time Ruiz did the same, the bodybuilder noticeably winced in pain. Ruiz is too durable for Joshua to trade with on the inside. He's not going beat Ruiz by going toe to toe.
Yeah, Ruiz was slightly underrated going into the first fight, but after the upset he has become ridiculously overrated. He's another Buster Douglas, as his weight gain clearly illustrates. He's going to be obliterated.
90% of boxers would try to finish off an opponent after flooring them like Joshua did to Ruiz, especially after landing another big shot immediately after Ruiz got up. 90% of the floored opponents would also get overwhelmed and be knocked out but Ruiz took it and fought back immediately. There was no luck involved and neither did Joshua become careless.
Bottom line, Ruiz is a better boxer than AJ. That's why he was able to win the first fight and that's why he will most likely win the second.
There's something about Ruiz, a guy who resembles a blob, who was able to brutalize a guy to the body with the kind of physique that Joshua has, while AJ apparently being too tall to get low enough to hit the blob in the body which is a massive target. There's something about that, that I just can't get over. And frankly if AJ loses again without targeting Andy's body in the rematch, his tactics seriously would need to be questioned.
Ruiz I think has better punch selection, like he has better instincts than AJ on when to throw certain punches that could surprise him. Ruiz seems to be able to absorb punches better also, and doesn't seem to gas as much by getting hit, which is odd due to his size. The problem AJ has is that he seems to get really fatigued and slowed down by getting hit with a sustained attack. And when this happens he needs to basically just move away not throw any punches and recover in between rounds. He really can't let that happen in the rematch or else he could be in trouble again.
Ifhe hadn't rushed in?? Then right now Ruiz would have been seen as just another failed title challenger. But instead...
I tend to agree but I think we are in the minority, I thought he was reckless personally and it was probably down to a lack of respect for ruiz. If Joshua gets whipped tonight I'll hold my hand up and admit I was wrong.
Because he got right up and walked through a straight right that would have killed a lot of people. And then proceeded to bludgeon Joshua into submission.
