Ruiz has yet to prove to be able to catch anyone with half way decent footwork. Until he gets in proper shape and learns to properly cut off a ring he will continue to be out boxed by the better boxers of the division. This generations Tua imo. Just different offensive styles and defenses.
Didn't say it was. I said Ruiz would be wide. What I meant is that it would resemble that fight the most, but wider, as Ruiz doesn't have the pressure or work-rate of Tua.
Ruiz has much quicker hands than Tua did and is more formally skilled. Tua was constantly down in the cards during his career. Ruiz...only the second Joshua fight and he was fat as hell.
It's fun watching modernists build Ruiz up into the stratosphere to try and preserve one of their top behemoths (and modern heavyweights as a whole) reputation. Had he even beat a top 10 contender going into Joshua? He's got some talent and i look forward to seeing his upcoming fight but the safe bet is Byrd.
I dunno. Byrd was rubbish and is very overrated but I don't know if the fat boy can crack that style.
maybe it's the Vitali win. I can't see anything else on his record. maybe Tua, who's similarly overrated. His "IBF title" reign was ..... 40 year old Holyfield (W12) ..... Fres Oquendo (W12) ..... 36 year old Andrew Golota (D12) ..... Jameel McCline (W12)...... DeVaryl Williamson (W12) . The Golota draw was disputed, the Oquendo win was very close. The McCline fight was close. Oquendo, McCline and Williamson were 'fringe' types. They weren't high up in anyone's top 10, if at all. I doubt Williamson was a lock for many top 15s even.
Tua is also enormously overrated. I can't really understand anybody giving him much credit for the Vitali Klitschko win. He lost basically every round and then Klitschko didn't think it was worth his time continuing for another 3 rounds. It's actually an insult to Byrd. Byrd did well at heavyweight considering that he's a naturally much smaller man, but any motivated heavyweight worth their salt would fancy their chances against him.
Byrd had a charmed career and he was lucky to get decision wins over Oquendo and McCline. They could be considered questionable, IMO - as is the case for Byrd's Draw with Golota. The Byrd/Williamson bout was paint drying in slow motion. An embarrassment to both boxers.
Yeah, he's an interesting fighter because he was really just an over-fed light-heavy with no punch power, and he took on real heavyweights. He was tricky. He deserves credit for getting in there. But I agree, any good truly world-class full-blown heavyweight who isn't over-the-hill would usually beat him up. Ibeaubuchi and Wlad really had no problems with him.
Ruiz is more Ike than Tua. Ruiz is very skillful and has a good boxing brian. He has better legs than Byrd and hits way harder than him. Byrd hasn't the legs or the punch to keep Ruiz off him. Ruiz steamrolls him
