Joshua knocked him down in the first fight and hit him with a big right hand as soon as he got up which had no effect. Ruiz has an absolute granite chin and will not get knocked out. Pretty much all of the knock downs Joshua suffered came after he landed some good shots on Ruiz but Ruiz took them and came rushing forward to hurt Joshua. The only way Joshua can win is to hit Ruiz and then immediately back off but he's never demonstrated that style before. He has always been the aggressor in all of his previous fights.
The stoppage is possible though I can see joshua fighting smart and breaking him down to the spoint he cant fight anymore But a clean knockout ? no i dont think
That's precisely why Joshua struggled to beat him. And I've never seem him consistently put on the back foot in all his fights. I mentioned it before he fought Joshua. He don't back up, he absorbs the shots and keeps coming forward. Can anyone stop this ferocious blob charging forward? The bodybuilders power as well truly been exposed. He'll never quite have that aura of destruction after the first fight in my opinion. He's not going to blow Ruiz out of there early or mid rounds, and I'll be very surprised if he can do it to even this out of shape version he's fighting tonight!
When has Ruiz ever been in shape? Him being 10lbs heavier isn't going to be a factor. If anything his punch resistance will be even better.
It might effect his stamina and foot movement. He's a massive unit though. Ruiz ain't just fat like say Kownacki. He's very stocky, built like a strongman like Big Baby Miller. I just hope the bodybuilder don't make it too boring tonight, by running away from too many exchanges.
Could happen with the right shot, but the problem for AJ is that Ruiz always turned the heat up instantly when he tried to throw power in the first fight. And Ruiz always got the better of it in the rougher exchanges that would follow. At the same time he has to assert himself enough or else I see Ruiz walking him down. Gonna take nerves of steel to find that balance.
AJ cant handle Ruiz In the corner in one of the rounds when he was desperately trying to get his trainer to give him the magic key to beat Ruiz, he asks "should i put him on the back foot yeah" Comes out and tries it, but within 15 second its AJ on the back foot
Hit the nail on the head, each time Joshua throws something big Ruiz is unfazed and throws multiple punches back. It's like being hit motivates him more.
IMO the key to Ruiz being stopped will be his dad’s in his corner, if he’s behind on the cards and taking shots late in the fight then I can see his dad stopping the fight between rounds 10 & 11 with Ruiz on his stool! I don’t think Ruiz will get KOd but could conceivably get TKOd via a combination of fatigue and sustained punishment throughout. That obviously assumes that Joshua can keep the fight at long range and move away from trouble when Ruiz comes after him.
I do see Ruiz having stylistic advantages in the sense that what can AJ due to stop Ruiz from charging forward? A simple jab to the body by AJ could do wonders, but I get the sense that AJ is simply going to head hunt because AJ is so tall and reaching down to the body puts him at risk of being countered. But I do think as others have pointed out that AJ got in trouble in the first fight when he would land some good shots but then wouldn't back away and then Ruiz would absorb them and some land follow up shot on him. If AJ's plan is to head hunt Ruiz he would do well to try and be the counter puncher, make Ruiz be the one who throws first, and Ruiz just might fancy taking that kind of approach since he's the champ now.
You're right Stick and move.. don't just move don't just stick. Ruiz has slow feet, just another weakness of his that can be exploited.
The bodybuilder just needs to out manoeuvre the blob. Like Lewis did to Tua. Or a lesser extent, what Parker did. Jab step backwards, jab step sidewards. I just think Joshua was shocked that Ruiz stood his ground, and ate his shots like marshmallows. Joshua might be able to outbox and out point him if he keeps moving. But keeping Ruiz at range, will be difficult. Just hope he don't get stuck in the corner and crushed up against the turn buckle against that huge 282lb belly. Lol
Ruiz is getting sparked brutally. Whether by one-sided UD or KO. I picked Ruiz to win recently but after the weigh-in, there is no way he's winning this.
