I would have loved to have heard him make an impassioned case for a bout against the winner, to let the world know how badly he wants it. 22 bout in Las Vegas between Wilder and Fury. He did nothing but prove he could beat an overweight guy who hadn’t trained much with that effort.Īfterward, he didn’t give much hope for a mid- or late-2020 unification bout with the winner of the Feb. If the Joshua we saw on Saturday were boxing Tyson Fury, how would he have been able to deal with that hard, long jab that Fury repeatedly throws?ĭespite regaining the titles, this wasn’t the greatest of nights for Anthony Joshua.
If he were so wary of Ruiz’s punching power, what would he do if he were facing WBC champion Deontay Wilder, who has rocket launchers attached to the end of his arms? Wilder is one of the hardest punchers to ever have lived, and he doesn’t need combinations and rounds of connecting to knock someone out.Īs he proved last month against Luis Ortiz, one good shot on the chin is all it takes for Wilder.Īnd if he ever fought Joshua, there are two guarantees: Wilder would know that and so would Joshua. There were a few times where Joshua seemed like he’d get into that groove where he was dictating the action with his boxing, but whenever Ruiz would throw a combination he looked like a hungry kid who heard his mother calling him for dinner. You saw him repeatedly fail to cut off the ring. Yes, Joshua was in command, but was it because he seized control of the fight or is it because Ruiz was nowhere ready to fight? You saw how slow Ruiz looked. This is one time when that wasn’t the case. There are times when a boxer boxes and he looks sharp and dynamic and in control. (Photo by Oliver Weiken/picture alliance via Getty Images) (not pictured) in their heavyweight title fight at the Diriyah Arena. Judge Steve Gray had Joshua winning 119-109, giving him all but one.Īnd yet, it’s hard to find anyone who isn’t working for Joshua or who isn’t an avid fan raving about his performance.Īnthony Joshua celebrates defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. Judges Glenn Feldman and Benoit Rousel gave Joshua 10 of 12, the same as I did, scoring it 118-110. This is what is odd about it, though: Nearly everyone who saw the fight believes Joshua won 10 or 11 of the 12 rounds. Ruiz embarrassed himself by barely training and then not having the energy to force Joshua to stand and fight. This was Joshua using strategy, his own physical gifts and Ruiz’s devastating lack of interest in training against him.
Joshua used his reach to stay on the outside and pop a woefully prepared and badly overweight champion in the face over and over, then he’d dance away to avoid a fight. He controlled the fight from start to finish with his jab and with his legs.
I get it: Joshua was never in danger, not even for a millisecond. Did he remind you of Muhammad Ali? Of Lennox Lewis? Hell, did he even remind you of the 1992 version of Riddick Bowe? in rainy Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.Įven so, did you look at him and think, man, this guy is the best in the world? He could beat anyone.
Ask yourself a question: Were you all that impressed by Anthony Joshua on Saturday? Depending on the judge, he won either 10 or 11 of the 12 rounds in his heavyweight title bout with Andy Ruiz Jr.
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