On a fateful night at Madison Square Garden in 2019, Anthony Joshua suffered a shocking upset defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr, but heavyweight veteran Derek Chisora has revealed that there could be a major reason behind Joshua’s catastrophic loss.
‘AJ’ had been poised for a grudge match with Jarrell Miller on what was a US debut for the then unified heavyweight world champion, until ‘Big Baby’ tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; replaced by Ruiz who took the opportunity on four weeks’ notice.
It is believed by the masses that Joshua took his eye of the ball in the supposed mismatch, particularly after dropping the American-Mexican hard in the third round, with Ruiz returning to his meet and then dramatically catching Joshua with a counter to the temple that rocked him to his core.
Joshua suffered the first and second knockdowns of his career in that round and never truly recovered before being floored twice more in round seven and eventually stopped.
Speaking on the Fight Your Corner Podcast, in partnership with Midnite, Chisora revealed that there were issues going on behind the scenes ahead of Joshua’s clash with ‘The Destroyer’.
“That [first] Andy Ruiz fight with Joshua, I think that he is going to say it on Netflix, there was something going on with him.
“I will wait for him to tell it himself, but trust me, it’s big. It’s bigger than what we think it is, but I will wait for him, one day, when he is ready, he will tell people what was wrong with him before he walked in that ring.”
Joshua faced rumours of a panic attack in the changing room pre-fight, something he later came out to deny. There was also talk that he had been hurt, or knocked out, in sparring, but no concrete claims or reports.
‘AJ’ avenged that harrowing defeat just six months later to reclaim his heavyweight throne, but many fight fans feel that his approach to fighting was permanently changed after that horrifying defeat in New York.
Now, Joshua could be set to return to MSG for the first time since that night, linked to a showdown with Tyson Fury which looks set to head to either the ‘Mecca of Boxing’ or Wembley Stadium.
