BEFORE his fight with Anthony Joshua, I was aware that Andy Ruiz Jnr was a step up from Jarrell Miller and a good fighter, but never in a million years did I dream that he could actually beat “AJ”. This was a shattering loss for Joshua. Two aspects of the defeat were particularly disturbing. The first was how Joshua was not able to cope with Ruiz’s come-forward, swinging style, and the other, and by far the most worrying, was the manner in which Joshua was knocked down four times. Each time it appeared to be from shots to the back or side of the head – not the jaw. They were obviously not soft blows, but they nevertheless did not appear to be particularly devastating ones. It now seems that Joshua cannot take a punch. No doubt he will have a return fight with Ruiz, and my guess is he’ll have a good chance of at least outpointing him, if he sticks to a solid fight plan. I am, though, concerned for Joshua should he ever fight Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. I now have no doubt that Wilder would KO him, while Fury, who I’ve always seen as the best of the three, would outpoint him or possibly stop him late on. Joshua showed what a sporting gentleman he is in defeat and displayed to other fighters how to act when you lose.
Stuart Greenberg
DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER