THE shock of Andy Ruizโs victory over Anthony Joshua is still reverberating round the boxing world. He sensationally toppled the Briton inside seven rounds at Madison Square Garden on June 1. With that win the plump Mexican not only plucked away Joshuaโs WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles but he became an instant cult hero, appearing on major US television shows and even feted by the president of Mexico. There is no doubt that rematch will be a huge event. But is it the right move for Joshua to go straight into it after such a significant reverse?
Thatโs what his promoter Eddie Hearn has indicated they will do. They have triggered their rematch clause. โWe can announce that weโve confirmed the rematch [for November or December of this year]. For me the UK feels like the right place to do this,โ he said. โRespect to Andy Ruiz, it was a great performance. We knew heโd be dangerous thatโs why we picked him. We wanted to give everyone a great fight.โ
Joe Joyce, a long time sparring partner of Joshuaโs from his days on the GB Boxing team, advises careful consideration. โItโs a big boost for Ruiz. He already knows what to do, just do it again,โ Joyce told Boxing News. โI think Iโd have one [fight] in between because heโd have to build up his confidence again. What actually happened? Did he get concussed with sparring? Maybe thatโll come out and explain it. Maybe it was just a bad day. His dad was going after Eddie after the fight, I donโt what the reason was for that. Was he unwell?โ
Joshuaโs promoter Eddie Hearn has firmly denied that anything untoward occurred in training. โThe conspiracy theories, what happened? โHe was hurt in sparring,โ โhe had a panic attackโ โ all of which is absolute rubbish. AJ had a great camp,โ Hearn said. โProbably if anything not panicked enough.โ
“I know heโs won all the titles and he wants to win them again. But be smart. You will get the chance to win them titles again”
Amir Khan
โI donโt feel enough people are giving enough credit to Andy Ruiz,โ the promoter added. โJust give the respect and credit to Andy Ruiz.โ
Hearn however sounds confident that Joshua can and will win a rematch. โWasnโt the result we wanted [on June 1] but itโs sport. Thereโs a winner and a loser,โ he said. โI believe Anthony Joshua will rise again.โ
Crediting Ruiz though does underscore how dangerous the Mexican will be in a rematch, especially if that fight comes next. Joyce pointed out, โI know Joshua personally, heโs very competitive and heโll want to right them wrongs. But maybe Ruiz is his kryptonite because heโs small, heโs fast and heโs technically good. When Joshua was throwing punches, he [Ruiz] can move, slip, take them on the gloves and then come back with his own stuff. I donโt know what Joshua is going to have to do. Keep it long. But maybe his head was not in the right place for the fight. He could have been discussing other deals, looking too ahead of himself.โ
Frank Warren, Hearnโs commercial rival in the UK who promotes his own star heavyweight in Tyson Fury, is an unforgiving commentator. He maintains that Joshua ought to go straight into the rematch. โWhoโs going to take any notice of him fighting anybody else? He was the world champion. Who are you going to put him in with? Youโd have had Andy Ruiz for a comeback fight. I would have. I was trying to make Andy Ruiz against Hughie Fury. Thatโs a fact. Thatโs not bull****,โ Warren said. โIf they do the rematch, everybodyโs going to be interested in it.โ
โIf I was in charge of Joshua, if I was involved, Iโd be asking why was his dad so upset,โ Warren added. โIf he did get knocked out in sparring why did they allow him to fight?โ
โIโve seen in my time people getting hurt and badly hurt and on rare occasions getting killed in the ring,โ Warren continued. โAt the end of the fight, he didnโt look upset to me. Itโs pretty strange, the whole thing and listening to the talk in the corner, itโs very strange.โ
He does see potential opportunity for Tyson Fury. โAfter the rematch, if Ruiz is successful, then Al Haymon will have Ruiz because thatโs who his promoter is and weโve been able to do business with him, with Tyson,โ Warren said.
โI think there are big fights there to be made and big paydays to be made for these guys if thatโs what theyโre interested in. Thatโs what needs to be done. I donโt see Joshua beating Ruiz in a rematch. Not on what Iโve seen. That guy only had five weeks notice to get ready for the fight. So heโll have more time to get ready for the fight. That fella showed that he took his best shot, he got up off the floor and it shows that heโs got the power to knock over AJ. Looking at that, howโs the next fight going to pan out?โ
“I believe Anthony Joshua will rise again.”
Eddie Hearn
Amir Khan has suffered crushing setbacks in his career and can shrewdly appraise the risks involved with taking an immediate rematch. Now for instance, after his loss to Terence Crawford, Khan is taking a tune up contest against Neeraj Goyat. โYou have to give your body that break as well,โ he said. โI donโt want to go straight into another hard fight.โ
โWe all thought Anthony was going to blow this guy away. I remember Andy from the Wildcard gym when I used to train there,โ Khan noted. โI never thought he would be one to beat our world champion, Anthony Joshua. I think Anthony Joshua in the rematch should come back stronger and obviously see where he made his mistakes and beat him. I think heโs a better fighter all round. He just caught with a shot and thatโs boxingโฆ You have to be one step ahead and you canโt make any mistakes.โ
But an eventual rematch and an immediate rematch are two different things. โWhen I heard he was jumping back into a rematch I thought it was the worst mistake he could make. First of all Ruiz is going to be full of confidence going into this fight. Youโve got Joshua who is going to be a little bit on the edge and on his back foot, knowing that he can be hurt and put down. So I just think itโs a very bad fight to take back-to-back,โ Khan said frankly. โI canโt believe that Eddie is putting him straightaway in the mix with him. I think what he needs is a nice easy knockout win, maybe two, then get the fight back again.โ
On the other side of this hard choice are the commercial pressures, i.e. that the Ruiz rematch is undoubtedly a big fight and restoring Joshua to his former status as quickly as possible would presumably be gratifying to sponsors, but also the politics of the boxing world are a factor. If they donโt take the rematch at once, getting that fight at a later stage and re-challenging for those world titles could prove difficult to make, or at least take a long time.
โI just feel heโs in a bit of a tough situation, is Anthony Joshua. I donโt think he should fight him again this soon. But then where does he go? Because if he loses that opportunity against him, [and] I think he can beat him, but can he beat him after a loss like that?โ Khan wondered.
Coming off a defeat can affect a fighterโs mindset, not necessarily making him hesitant but even being overeager for vengeance can certainly throw a boxer off too. โWhat happens there, you make mistakes,โ Khan said. โIโve seen it myself when you go into a fight with your emotions high, you make mistakes automatically, if you want to prove a point. For example, when I fought [Danny] Garcia, the guys who Iโve fought when Iโve gone in there emotionally, Iโve tried to go in there and do a number and fight with my heart and thatโs where you get hurt.
โI think if he goes into this fight emotionally, he could cause himself a big problem. And what happens if he gets beat again? What are people going to say about him?”
Joe Joyce reflected, “The British public they build you up so much but when you lose thatโs when all the memes come out, you just get slaughtered.”
“I think he needs to rebuild his career again,” Khan said of Joshua. “I know heโs won all the titles and he wants to win them again. But be smart. You will get the chance to win them titles again but be smart about it.โ
Do you think Joshua should take the Ruiz rematch in his next fight? Comment below to let us know what you think.