Yeah, I like him personally. Seems genuinely humble and grounded. It all seems a bit of a shock to him becoming HW champion of the world. Not in a way that he's overawed, just that he can't quite believe that he's achieved it. Seems focussed on fighting the best guys in the division - has eyes on Wilder and Fury after the Joshua rematch. Seems to genuinely believe he can beat Joshua again if it's a level playing field (hence why the location for the fight is important). The most interesting bits for me were Ruiz categorically saying the fight will not be in the UK. That's the first time I've heard someone say that. Before it was just the location is TBC. He apparently has told Rogan off camera where the fight is going to happen but says it'll be announced soon. He told Joe he would get him a ticket which makes me wonder if it's taking place in California as Joe is based near there.
I though with all the media Ruiz was doing it may have went to his head. But he came across so well on the podcast. Mentioned hard work & seems determined to stay as champion. I think he wins the rematch unless the judges are paid off.
People are saying Las Vegas now. Regardless of the UK stage being "stacked in AJ's favour", Cardiff in December is a very dumb idea anyway.
Motivation for upset rematches tends to take care of itself. The drive to prove that it wasn't a fluke, and having to deal with the inevitable conspiracy theories and excuses (not necessarily from Joshua himself) is generally more than enough to get focused on the fight. Coupled with the increased confidence that comes from winning the first fight, I think Joshua has got his work cut out for him. There's an old adage that if you stop a guy first time round, you should the same thing quicker the next time. I don't see this fight as a Lewis-Rahman type deal where the favourite knows what went wrong and how to fix it. Does Joshua need to revamp his style, or does he just need to come in better prepared and let things flow? Most of us watching would lean towards the former, but taking the immediate rematch suggests they think the latter. Maybe Team AJ don't even know themselves. I like how Ruiz appears to be focused on the win. He wants the rematch in the most favourable conditions where he doesn't need to deal with hometown ****, and worry about scorecards, referees, premature stoppages and PEDs. Give himself the best chance of winning, and the rest will take care of itself after that. Whatever happens, I'd prefer for both guys to remain factors in the division afterwards. Ruiz is a good addition to the top echelon, but Joshua is the one that brings the star power and crossover appeal that can help elevate everyone else. A quick blowout either way probably isn't the best thing for the division.
Good post. What I found interesting in the interview was the admission that Ruiz hates fighting smaller fighters and struggles with them. He prefers fighting taller men so he isn’t in the slightest fearful or wary of Joshua’s size and power. Judging by the short videos after the defeat, AJ appears to be concentrating on his footwork to step out of trouble. Thing is, I felt that he was the tactic in first 2 rounds and he was burning off a load of gas to do this. I’m still confident that smaller fighters are Joshua’s kryptonite and Ruiz will have lots of success in the rematch.
Put it this way : Who would YOU rather be going into the rematch ? I'd rather be the guy who scored 4 knockdowns and won by TKO with a very confident performance in the first fight against the bookie's odds, rather than the guy who was expected to win, scored 1 knockdown then proceeded to get beat up, knocked down loads and mentally quit.
@Special one From the Horses mouth pal.....positively stated twice no chance its in UK...And Hearn has done a 180 from Ruiz will do as he is told to "we dont want a law suit" £50 Dove house hospice in Hull........
12 rounds is a long time to fight scared for a huge muscular guy with a suspect gas tank. I think for Joshua to win this fight he needs to get Ruiz' respect; not necessarily all guns blazing but give Ruiz something to get him thinking twice about closing the distance and letting his hands go. I really don't think Joshua can win this moving backwards. I don't think there's enough time for Joshua to switch styles; this isn't Rocky III. If he does indeed have a stylistic weakness against shorter fighters, it's going to be tough in there for him. The one thing in Joshua's favour is that he can focus on just winning the fight this time round. In the first one there was a need for not just a W, but a performance to launch AJ in America.
There isn't going to be a rematch, let alone in the UK. Eddie won't allow for stateside advantage. Just look at the lengths he's been willing to go with Whyte to win. Do you think he's going to let all that caution go to the wind and see Joshua bounced across the ring in Vegas and ridiculed for ever? Until it's officially announced, it isn't happening.
Ruiz isnt going to accept a rematch in the UK, as I pointed out immediately after the first fight. Therefore if it is going to happen it will need to be in the USA, and this means AJ has to travel again and is he really going to up for that? I could easily see Ruiz Jr making a soft defence instead of fighting AJ in November, and then fighting Wilder for all the prizes in April 2020
I love how this has turned up, meant to be an easy win for Joshua, Miller fails test, Ruiz comes in still massively long shot and wins, no-one had planned for this at all, in the risk matrix this outcome with infathomable
Cardiff in mid December sounds crazy from a weather perspective. Plus it’s very close to Christmas for any type of PPV- let alone a multiple heavyweight title fight. It’ll be in America I’d imagine.
