Does a motivated AJ crush Ruiz? or Ruiz just got his number?

Motivation don't mean ****. Look at Broner. Works his ass off in the gym and still comes up short. This isn't about just hard work.

AJ needs to learn some new things. How to better control the distance and how to react when Ruiz bursts in offense.

2 key issues for Joshua were:
Ruiz being able to counter him after Joshua punched.
Joshua not knowing how to defend himself on the inside.

I think it was the third round when Joshua landed a beautiful right hand on Ruiz(boy has a chin!) and he followed it up with a left hook. This meant Joshua stayed on the line with Ruiz and his head was there for the taking.
Joshua should have moved off the line instead of looking for that left hook. There were little mistakes like that which cost him.

 

Yes, a focused Joshua boxes behind the jab and wins a boring decision. He made a big mistake in the first fight and never quite recovered from it. That affected everything else from that point onwards. A focused and healthy Joshua doesn't just stand there getting hit over and over again and looking like a deer in the headlights; he keeps things at range, picks Ruiz off with his jab and catches him with hard, eye-catching punches that likely shake Ruiz up and make him hesitant to close distance.

Maybe that's all wishful thinking, but I think people are making too much of Ruiz's performance based on the fact that he was in there against a compromised Joshua (compromised by Ruiz's fists, but still). All the things people believe Ruiz can do in the rematch hinge on Joshua being pre-buzzed. In that respect, if he hurts him early again anything's possible. But Joshua got knocked down after he became complacent, and I doubt he'll do that again.

Ruiz is good, but he's not significantly better than Povetkin or Parker, both men Joshua managed to outbox. He's not quicker than Parker, doesn't hit harder than Povetkin, and doesn't possess any physical advantages over either man. The main thing that makes him so tricky is his ability in close quarters exchanges. Keep him on the outside and his effectiveness rapidly diminishes. Joshua has more than enough tools to keep the fight at range, where he'll be at a decided advantage.

The only factor that gives me pause here is how much the loss mentally affected Joshua. Joshua might fight atypically cagey and timid in this one and maybe need to weather some rough moments, a la Wlad Peter I. This'll be a good gut check for him, and if he gets through it I think we might see Joshua reign for a long time to come.

 

AJ is a big favorite for the rematch with bookmakers, last I looked it was 3:1. Even after the crushing defeat.

 

If it's in the U.K I give him the edge.

If it's not I can see him losing again.

I think being at home will be a massive advantage for him, and I don't mean the judges or ref I mean 80k shouting his name and willing him on is a huge plus.

 

The key for an AJ victory is to cut the power punches, and not pause and admire his work when he lands.

It's when he buzzes Ruiz that Ruiz comes back hard and catches him off guard. Even both of those knockdowns in the 4th AJ landed decent shots and was caught waiting for Ruiz to crumble or give him a follow up opportunity. Instead Ruiz flew in swinging. The blueprint for AJ is the Parker fight but the difference is Ruiz will take shots to deliver shots, where Parker was happy to stay at length and survive the 12.

 

I think it's apparent Joshua won't stop him, without being caught in the exchanges. But I do think Joshua can stay at range and jab him to a safe boring decision for 12 rounds. Ruiz is probably the toughest guy in division for durability judging from the Joshua fight.

 

This. I said before the fight took place that it would be dangerous for Joshua to try and force a knockout on Ruiz.

Joshua being green is used to crushing everybody he hurts with his power, but found out the hard way that against durable guys like Ruiz you need to have a backup plan and know when to change tactics to still win the fight.

When Wilder fought Stiverne to win the WBC title it became obvious to everyone and Wilder himself that he wasn’t going to knock Stiverne out, so he wisely changed tactics and stopped loading up with power shots and focused on getting the decision, which he did.

This was also the case with Wlad when he fought Peter. Peter was walking through all of Wlad’s powershots, so Wlad used that to his advantage and started racking up the points despite being knocked down several times himself and gave up on the knockout, but left the winner.

 

I don't think there was a focus or motivation problem. He got caught and didn't recover, nothing more nothing less

 

Dont think AJ has the legs of Wlad. His jab is also poor. If he wants to be mobile he will need to drop from 248 lbs to 230 lbs but then how effective will he be in the clinches. A lot also depends on the shape that Ruiz comes in as well.

 

I think AJ after Round 3 decided he will now try to box Ruiz like Wlad and not go for the KO but Ruiz didn't let him off the hook. In boxing its not just purely about what you did or didn't do but also about what your opponent also allows you to do. The biggest thing which lost AJ the fight was his chin and lack of durability and toughness. 4 knock downs in a fight is bum level.

A shot version of Tyson took Lennox Lewis jabs, power shots, clinches for 8 rounds before finally deciding to lay down. In boxing you need to have the whiskers at the top level.

 

A motivated AJ should beat Ruiz - that's why everyone picked AJ to beat him.

It would help if AJ moved to the States. No one even knows who he is there.