WE probably didn’t require the confirmation, but we have it anyway: Andy Ruiz Jnr apparently ate everything he was able to get his hands on in the aftermath of his stunning upset win against Anthony Joshua in June.
One look at the state of his physique during Saturday’s rematch in Saudi Arabia would have provided all the proof needed but Ruiz has hardly been shy when it comes to revealing the extent of his gluttony in the days since. He has admitted he didn’t train hard enough. He has admitted he partied too hard. He has also now told TMZ that any food passed his way between June and September – a rough estimate – invariably ended up in his gut.
“I think I ate everything… everything,” he said. “That’s why I gained so much weight. I was having too much fun; I was celebrating too much. Just being with my friends and just celebrating. Drinking a few more Coronas than I should have.”
As a result of his binging ways, Ruiz Jr weighed in at 20st 3lbs, 15lbs heavier than the first fight, and essentially failed to show up for a rematch the whole world had been waiting for. It cost him his title and the respect he garnered in New York six months ago. But still he got paid – handsomely. The party, therefore, will no doubt continue.
Former WBC world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew is as good a judge as any when it comes to the heavyweight potential of Ukrainian star Oleksandr Usyk.
When Bellew and Usyk fought in November 2018, Bellew, despite putting up a spirited effort, was eventually stopped in round eight. He then retired immediately after the fight.
Now, with Usyk having departed cruiserweight, the division in which he won every one of the four major world titles, Bellew sees only good times ahead for the 32-year-old southpaw – provided he doesn’t get too big for his boots, that is.
“Oleksandr Usyk is a big danger to anyone,” Bellew told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on TalkSport. “He’s a very, very good fighter in his own right. I just think that the only thing missing with Usyk is the sheer size and the weight.
“What he’ll find is he’ll probably be beating all these guys for five or six rounds – very similar to how I was beating him until I got tired – and then what’ll happen is they’ll catch up with him.
“I do think he beats everybody; I think the only two guys who are going to be a step too far will probably be Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua – depending on which Joshua comes in. The Joshua who turned up on Saturday night, I think that’s the perfect model for the Usyk fight.”
There is, for Usyk, more joy to be had in a pursuit of WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, Bellew believes.
“I just don’t think he’s big enough for Fury or AJ, but I do think he’d beat Deontay Wilder,” he said. “I think technically he’d make Deontay Wilder look absolutely ridiculous. And Wilder will know that, so won’t touch him. Styles make fights.”
They do. We hear it all the time. And few are as stylish as Oleksandr Usyk.
