Yup, nobody likes the comparison but this is Rahman and Lewis all over again in terms of the interest, only multiplied by the digital age
All the knockdowns came right after Joshua landed a peach of his own. Every time Joshua landed a big shot, instead of Ruiz folding up he reacted like someone had took his Nando’s off him. Joshua has to maintain the distance and clinch for dear life whenever Ruiz gets in that pocket in the rematch.
I don’t get the comparison to price, it’s a totally different situation. Price is seen as a joke mainly because he never made it in the first place, there is no point in him fighting. I doubt AJ will be a joke in that way, this is more comparable to wlad for me. AJ has a few issues with stamina he needs to work out, his chin doesn’t seem as bad as price’s either.
Taking an L changes things, of course. Like it or not (and I don't) being 'undefeated' entices casuals into thinking they are watching the second coming. An L means AJ is not, in fact, the messiah. And an L to a small, blubbery unknown fighter at that. The next fight is critical, obviously. A further loss really sets him back and nobody is going to be flying to Vegas or NYC to watch a fighter who is 0 and 2 against Ruiz any time soon. That means he's domestic in every sense.
The rematch is happening immediately as AJ/Matchroom/DAZN/Sky don’t want the belts to go astray or to Wilder/Haymon. If AJ was to rebuild, who knows where the belts would be in 12-18 months. If AJ does win the rematch, I expect some excuses to come out. After Haye’s toe fiasco, as a team they don’t want to risk losing face in the public by coming out with excuses after losing. It works a lot better coming with excuses after a rematch.
The thing is they could come with excuses that are in reality just boring, everyday reasons. I doubt anything will emerge about medical problems, panic attacks, undiagnosed conditions and the like. It'll be very straightforward stuff. "I took him lightly which is a mistake I'll never make again." Hardly revolutionary.
I think Ruiz took Joshua a bit lightly the first time. I don't think he expected to be knocked down on his way to beating Joshua down for the best part of 7 rounds.
