Joshua and Ortiz vs Ruiz comparison

Joshua: 29 years old, A-side, 0 defeats, 1 KD received

Dropped 4 times and quit in 7 rounds.

Ortiz: 43 years old, B-side, 2 KO defeats, 6 KD's received

Dropped 3 times (the 2nd KD was controversial) but went the distance, winning 19 of 36 rounds scored on the three collective cards, controversial decision loss.

5 years ago before the first Wilder fight or even 3 years ago before the second, does anyone really believe that Ortiz wouldn't have won a clear decision or stopped Ruiz?

Ruiz not only obliterated Joshua but had a very close fight with Parker in New Zealand, which would have certainly gone Ruiz's way had it been in Mexico. Parker lost to Whyte in a war, who was recently schooled and one-punched in 6 by Fury.

AJ's "resume" rests on very shaky foundations at this point. Wilder destroying Ruiz would do a lot to further skewer AJ's legacy, damage him psychologically and elevate Wilder in relative terms, so it's a very logical fight to make on the PBC network. Maybe it would also coax Hearn into putting AJ in the ring with Wilder in about a year in order to potentially restore AJ's credibility and if not, then at least to cash him out in a mega fight.

 

"So we just going to forget AJ schooled Ruiz Jr in the rematch then?"

I'm comparing 1st fight to 1st fight. AJ has enough advantages over Ortiz as it is without bringing that 22-by-22 foot ring, Ruiz ballooning up to 283 lbs and not training into it.

"Old Ortiz worse than old Arreola based off the Ruiz performances."

My God you're reaching.

Arreola won 1-2 rounds on the cards, Ortiz won 6-7. Arreola knocked Ruiz down and didn't get knocked down but lost by 9 points rather than Ortiz's 3 and was 40, rather than Ortiz's 43.

 

"The Ruiz that fought Ortiz was obviously a lesser version as the one that beat Joshua"

Aside from inactivity there is no argument for this. Ruiz is the same weight, in his prime years but much more experienced than he was back then. He had also trained hard for this fight, the AJ rematch Ruiz came in 15 lbs heavier and was the B-side in a huge ring. If Ruiz looked bad it was because 43 year old Ortiz made him look bad first and foremost, difficult as that is for you to accept.

"The Ortiz that fought Ruiz was a lesser version"

Of course, which has a number of implications.

"On top of that, triangle theory never really worked."

This is a cretinous statement, if not trolling when said from one hardcore fan to another.

 

"noteworthy opponent"

Completely arbitrary. I could say that AJ has no noteworthy wins because his best win is life and death in Britain with Fury's inactive 41 year old leftovers.

"Ruiz, who I would consider just gets in to AJs top 5 opponents"

Ruiz obliterated AJ, went 12 in the rematch while untrained and only lost a MD to Parker because he was the B-side in New Zealand. Now he's scraped a win over 43 year old Ortiz. By my estimation that puts him above Parker and Whyte and possibly an aging Povetkin who was coming off getting dropped by Price and before that going the distance with Hammer and Rudenko.

"Facts is AJ beaten the minimum 5 guys"

AJ has beaten one guy better than Ortiz 1 (Wlad) and two guys (Povetkin) better than Ortiz 2. Whyte, Parker and Ruiz 2 are all inferior to Stiverne 1, let alone Ortiz 1. If Wilder loses to Ruiz, let alone gets dropped 4 times and quits, then I'll revaluate.

"Wilders record in tatters LDBC posters in tears and on the defensive."

Defensive? Weren't the majority picking Ruiz to win by KO? Wasn't Ruiz the big favourite in this fight? You weren't picking Ortiz to go the distance, let alone to win 6-7 rounds on the cards.

 

We definitely can't give him Whyte: as soon as he lost to AJ he was considered borderline world level, then a year later he gets a SD as the A-side against Chisora.

We can give him Povetkin and Kevin Johnson but that's it.

Povetkin because he beat a better version of Hughie in Britain than the one who Parker struggled with more, officially drew with Hunter and then KO'd Whyte cold in Britain at almost 41. That was an impressive run. Unfortunately for AJ that win aged well at Parker and Whyte's expense.

Kevin Johnson because people thought he was shot when AJ obliterated him in 2 rounds but 3 years later he went the distance with Dubois, Hrgovic and nearly everyone else, which he's still doing to this day at 42. But again, this win aged well at Pulev and Ruiz's expense, neither of whom could put a dent in Kevin.