Andy Ruiz Jr’s punch, which brought down Anthony Joshua, didn’t just shake the Brit that day, it also brought down the entire landscape in the boxing world. The first Mexican to win a heavyweight title, undoubtedly, wrote his name in the history books and will be remembered forever. But will that be because he emerged and became a champion right out of nowhere, or as a one-time wonder?
Preview
As we all remember, Ruiz made a worldwide sensation once he knocked down Joshua back on June 1st at the Madison Square Garden. Although being on the canvas himself, the Mexican rose up to the occasion and fought back, stunning the Brittish champ, at the time.
The current title-holder, Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), seems to be in the best shape of his career. He added a lot of weight, his line is much bigger than before, and we believe that his will and hunger are too at the same level as in the previous fight. After all, that is what secured him a victory in the first place. He would rose from the dead, like a phoenix, to create one of the best comebacks ever. Though, many are doubting his chances to defend the title. First of all, many experts had negative comments about his weight cut, suggesting that his punch might be even weaker now. Ruiz is not a boxer who can bring down his opponent with one hit, so his trainers might have sacrificed that to get some speed, which had a lot of room for improvement.
Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) also lost a few pounds, but it seems that he looks much fitter now. The former champion spent a lot of time getting prepared for this fight, and we could see that he tried to pick up advice from several other former fighters. Among them was Wladimir Klitschko. According to the words from his team, AJ put a lot of work into mental preparations. He was not prepared for the first meeting with Ruiz, and that was obvious. In his debut match outside England, Joshua would suffer a defeat, and having in mind that this one is also away from the UK, getting ready for such a challenge was of utmost importance for the 30-year old. This match will take place in Saudi Arabia, meaning that it will be tough for Ruiz too and that he won’t have the crowd behind him as he used to do in New York,
Head to Head Meetings
The first fight was ended with Ruiz’s win via TKO in the 7th round. At the time of the stop, two judges were giving the advantage on the scorecards to the Mexican, while, while the third one favored Joshua to win.
Prediction
Now, Joshua is the ultimate favorite, and no bookie gives a chance to Ruiz. We don’t know whether is that fair or not, but from our point of view, the Mexican really has a slim chance of making another surprise. Why? Well, at the time of their first fight, Joshua was concentrated more on the potential bout against Deontay Wilder, and his clash with Ruiz was, in fact, the Brit’s introduction to the American audience. So basically, it was just one step towards the fight for the unification, and he probably didn’t take it so seriously. Right now, the situation is different, and AJ is fully committed and focused on this opponent. Also, the fact that Ruiz won’t have the crowd with him in this one is huge, and because of all these circumstances, we are going to give the absolute advantage to Joshua. The odds on his win at BetXChange are 0.40, which is totally fine in this case.
