Was AJ really exposed or was he just having an off night

Three factors why AJ lost:

1) Yes, he had a bit of an off night. You could see there was something the matter
2) Yes, he got exposed. That vulnerability to the overhand right is why I thought Povetkin would have a good chance. But Pov was basically too old to capitalize and AJ never fixed that flaw, the same as he never fixed his leaky gas tank
3) Ruiz was flat out better than most people thought. He really does have fast hands, a good punch and the grit to mix it up at close quarters with a unit of a guy. His chin is good and he's not scared. Kudos, Andy Ruiz.

bonus 4th reason:

4) AJ's gameplan sucked. The obvious thing to do against a short stack like Andy is to use the Klitschko template and jab him to death from range. But instead AJ gave him endless chances by trying to slug. Bad mistake.

 

If Ruiz and AJ fought 10 times that week, how many times do you think Andy Ruiz Jr. would have won?

 

A bit of both as others have said
Ruiz was game and took it to AJ

Also that shot to the temple absolutely ruined him
He couldnt recover after that

Domestic journeyman level... Dear god
Some strange opinions here

 

I mean when Fury was dropped by Wilder.

Compare the two knockdowns, in terms of the way the fallen fighter reacts to the referee.

 

Just watch the Povetkin fight. He gets caught in opening rounds due to his crouching down forward in a wide stance with no jab when he is 6ft 6 bringing himself I to range to be hit. Also he has no movement other than the same jump back then step forward every time.

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Both. There was something not quite right about Joshua in that Ruiz fight. Rumours of being concussed or anxiety attack or what ever, i dont really care what it was, he chose to step through the ropes and fight so as far as im concerned you leaves your excuses behind when you step in to the ring. But ive seen all Joshua fights, the better opposition he has faced has got close, caused him problems and nearly exposed him to the point we can all see where Joshua can struggle. It all added up really. Joshua wasnt quite right, Also Joshua dont like the shorter fighters, Ruiz went in with a brave and aggressive game plan and ignored all the hype and it all turned in to a perfect recipe for disaster.

Im a big AJ fan and im looking forward to the rematch, im a beleiver in Joshua not being right but i saw Ruiz doing what people been telling other Boxers to do with AJ fight after fight because of the obvious flaws in his game. The rematch will give closure to any debates we all had about the 1st fight.

 

AJ can still win the rematch

But it is 50 / 50 at best.....

 

I don't think you can lose without being exposed in some way at least, unless its a unique circumstance. To me it looked like previous concerns were highlighted, his reactions to getting hit, powers of recovery and stamina when under fire. These are pretty glaring issues that were always there really, but a fighter like Ruiz with his experience and youth was able to press AJ.

He might not have been at his best but it was that kind of loss where you look at it and think he will have a hard time in the rematch. I don't feel it will be as easy as him keeping Ruiz at a distance, this is a guy with boxing IQ, experience and a decent chin that wont be scared of trying to get inside. AJs bulk against a fighter like this is a big deficit imo, he will get bamboozled by the shorter faster guy.

 

Hes extremely athletic,and would run rings around everyone here with ease

 

Exposed, he will now turn into another Tyson by getting beat multiple times.

 

I think his punching power was exposed quite a bit. Joshua's never had to win on the backfoot. He fought a opponent he couldn't KO, without getting stopped himself.

 

Both times I've seen Joshua rocked by a left hook (Ruiz,Whyte) it was mostly because Joshua had stunned them first, then swarmed to try and get the KD. Threw a right hand from too far away and ate the counter. Joshua is playing with fire chasing KO's.

 

Not sure he was exposed in terms of his boxing, which was always very basic, albeit very effective. What has been exposed is his training regimen. It's a standard mistake in many walks of life, find your point of difference and make it better. So he piled muscles onto muscles until he tipped over the point where benefit becomes a cost. If he doesn't learn this lesson and work on building a boxing physique rather than a GQ one, he will pay the price again. And use the gym time saved, to get into a boxing ring and lean how to box off the back foot. Even learning to clinch would be a start.

 

Wlad Exposed him Andy just capitalized on the exposure lol

 

I don‘t like the term "exposed" but in this case it‘s appropriate.

Joshua was labeled as the number one guy in the division despite showing major flaws in all of his fights since Wlad.

He was exposed as a fighter who is not quite on the level most people thought he was because he was supposed to dominate Ruiz jr. who was not a top 10 fighter.

If he would have lost against Wilder or Fury you couldn‘t really say he got exposed but he got beat down by a fighter almost nobody rated before that fight, that‘s the definition of getting exposed.

Wlad was also exposed and he needed to become a different fighter and completely changed his style.

Maybe Joshua can become a new version of himself too but THIS version got definitely exposed.