Andy Ruiz Jr upsets all the odds with stunning, unexpected win
Anthony Joshua’s American boxing debut ended in abject misery at Madison Square Garden last night, as he was sensationally stopped by Mexican Andy Ruiz Jr in seven rounds, surrendering his WBA, IBF and WBO belts. The Bookmakers odds on a Joshua win were as stingy as 1-25, and yet Ruiz somehow made a mockery of them.
This was astonishing. Pundit after pundit had predicted a routine stoppage victory for the Briton, and though Ruiz’s record was decent, 32-1 before last night, with his only defeat being a failed WBO world title shot against Joseph Parker in 2016 – there was little evidence to contradict the feeling that Ruiz was “strictly an opponent”. His physical appearance looks pretty terrible for a pro boxer – even a heavyweight – but that mattered not a jot last night.
Ruiz took his opportunity magnificently, proving a worthy winner. Even Joshua’s biggest fan couldn’t argue against that. Joshua was dropped four times in all, and, frankly – made to look ordinary. Ruiz has good hand speed, and he took some decent shots from Joshua with nonchalance. And remember, Ruiz took this fight at around six weeks’ notice, after Joshua’s original opponent Jarrell Miller failed three drugs tests beforehand.
The fight started cagily in the first two rounds, with Ruiz landing the cleaner shots in the first, and Joshua probably squaring things up in the second. The third, however, was absolute mayhem, and basically ruined Joshua for the rest of the fight. Initially, Joshua put Ruiz down with a solid left hook. Ah..business as usual? No, not quite. Ruiz recovered well, taking a solid right from Joshua, then immediately hurt him with a crunching left hook, sending him swiftly towards the canvas, but not before he added a clipping right on top of AJ’s head for good measure. Joshua’s legs now looked like they were fighting in a different zip code from the rest of his body.
Joshua was in serious trouble, his breathing laboured, wearing the look of a man who had sleep-walked into something completely unexpected (or underestimated?) with not the remotest idea of how to deal with it. Another fearsome flurry from Ruiz, backing Joshua into the corner, and Joshua was down again. He beat the count and lasted the round, but quite frankly looked a broken man on his stool at the end of the round.
Joshua spent the fourth and fifth rounds merely looking like a man delaying the inevitable. He was all over the place. Ruiz, to his credit, looked like he knew he was going to win, full of confidence. He didn’t rush in wildly at any point, just waiting patiently to unload his next big shot. Both fighters looked like they knew the ending of this fight already.
The sixth was surreal – Joshua was by now walking, flat on his feet, no spark or movement to speak of. He looked utterly spent physically, and utterly lacking in confidence also, in pure survival mode. Ruiz duly put AJ out of his misery in the next round. A terrific right hand wobbled Joshua once again, and the ensuing flurry of shots put Joshua down once more. Joshua’s nose had been leaking blood for a while already, adding to the image of total discomfort that his face had become.
Another battery of shots from Ruiz, and once again AJ Had no answer, going down again. There was no definitive punch, but there didn’t need to be – Joshua simply couldn’t cope with anything Ruiz was throwing his way.
On his haunches on the deck, AJ spat out his gumshield. As the Referee Mike Griffin counted, Joshua made no attempt to gather it up or put it back. He was directed to the corner, looking every inch a beaten fighter. Griffin decided he’d seen enough and stopped the contest. Joshua made the briefest and quietest of protests, but tellingly, there seemed little conviction in them.
Ruiz and his corner celebrated his new World Champion status wildly, and it would take a very hard-hearted boxing fan not to feel happy for him. He had basically pulled off a minor miracle, let’s be clear about that.
But equally clear is that this was a night of disaster for Joshua and it’s hard to know in what order to place all the negatives about it. In his post-match interviews, he seemed almost oblivious to what had just happened, and certainly oblivious to just how poor he had been. Joshua claimed it had been a great fight. It was compelling, compulsive and thrilling, by way of the story that was unfolding – but the only quality of any nature shown by either boxer came from Ruiz.
Something was not right with Joshua on this amazing night. There was a lethargy, an uncertainty, about the world champion right from the first bell. Once again there will be questions over AJ’s stamina, and the strength of his chin. Between rounds he could be heard repeatedly asking his trainer Rob McCracken exactly what shots from Ruiz had put him down, and what shots he’d used to put Ruiz down. Joshua seemed to lose track of the rounds, and, most alarmingly, after the sixth round had ended, asked McCracken “Why am I feeling like this?”
Joshua seemed so unlike his usual self, prompting many theories as to why, and what factors could have been part of this incredible upset. Was a stye in his eye a sign of physical stress? Was he injured? Had he trained properly or did he underestimate his opponent? But any suggestions of illness or physical problems in the build-up or at training camp were swiftly and flatly refuted by AJ’s manager, Eddie Hearn.
So was it just a monumental off-night? Whilst Ruiz will rightly be applauded for his amazing achievement, this fight still raises big questions of Joshua. Yes, Ruiz boxed well, kept a cool head and had enough venom in his hands to topple AJ, but in truth he was never seen as a danger to AJ’s record before this fight. The thought of what Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury may have done to Joshua on such a night is intriguing.
And there we have perhaps the worst aspect of this defeat for Joshua – all the talk of the multi-million pound fights with either Wilder or Fury stops – at least for now. Joshua has suddenly lost his seat at the top table of heavyweight boxing, and that will hurt. It’s not terminal, but it will undoubtedly take time, and some credible victories, for AJ to haul himself back into the top bracket and be on a par with Fury and Wilder once again – and that’s assuming the mad world of heavyweight boxing doesn’t throw up any more left-field results like this one again in the near future. Joshua will probably have a rematch with Ruiz in the UK before the end of the year, but right now, whilst we are still digesting this result and more pertinently Joshua’s performance, it is clear that we need to see a hugely improved Joshua for that fight, which now assumes massive significance for him.
By Chris Tribe
2nd June 2019
Copyright © 2019 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Copyright © Jumeirah/Commons wikipedia/Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC by 3.0)
Chris Tribe Sportswriting 