Joshua: ‘Ruiz is just as dangerous as Wilder & Fury’

By Chris Williams

Boxingnews24.com

Anthony Joshua says challenger Andy Ruiz Jr. is on the same threat level to him as WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) insists that Ruiz Jr. (32-1, 21 KOs) is right up there with those two guys.

Joshua has tried to let the fans know during his news conferences that Ruiz Jr. isn’t being overlooked. However, Joshua is going a little too far with his praise of Ruiz Jr. by putting him in the same class as Wilder in terms of him being a threat.

The boxing public would likely disagree with Joshua. They view Wilder as the most dangerous type of opponent for Joshua. Fury is a risky fight for Joshua, because he could out-box him. Joshua ran out of gas in his fights against Wladimir Klitschko and Dillian Whyte.

“We’re not overlooking Andy or his team at all,” Joshua said to ESPN. “Fighting Andy for me is just as dangerous as fighting Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury, because they both possess their own skills. So, I’m going to take Andy deadly serious,” said Joshua.

Ruiz, 29, has good punching power, and better than average hand speed for a heavyweight. He’s not shown the same kind of power that Wilder possesses. Granted, Ruiz Jr. hits harder than the 6’9″ Fury, but he’s not nearly as tall as him. Fury is the more talented fighter.

Hopefully, Joshua isn’t going to use Wilder’s name when talking up all of his opponents. Joshua should be able to compliment fighters like Ruiz without the need to bring up Wilder and Fury’s names. It comes across as petty on Joshua’s part, as if he’s evening the scoring with them by comparing fringe level fighters to them. Ruiz Jr. isn’t at their level.

Joshua says he’s not overlooking Ruiz

Despite all the talk Joshua has done about Wilder this week, Ruiz Jr. is his focus. Joshua gives Ruiz Jr. credit for just having signed for the fight. This is clearly Joshua taking a not so thinly veiled shot at Wilder and Fury, considering those are the fighters he wanted to face. Joshua could have fought them if he was willing to meet them halfway in what they were asking for.

“I don’t overlook him at all. I respect him. I respect his whole team and I really respect the fact that he put his name on the dotted line to take this challenge,” said Joshua.

Ruiz hoping to become first Mexican heavyweight champion

Andy has made it known at the news conferences with Joshua that he wants to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion. Ruiz Jr. says he wants to take Joshua’s three titles to Mexico to show his boxing fans in that country afterwards. That would bring the 29-year-old Ruiz Jr. a great deal of happiness to show his fans the belts.

Ruiz Jr. was in the right place at the right time. If not for Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller testing positive for banned substances during several VADA administered tests, Ruiz Jr would be ignored. He’s ranked too low with the IBF at #15 and WBO at #11 to have gotten noticed. It was Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn that spotted Ruiz Jr. at the bottom of the rankings.

“I’m just ready. I’m ready to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world,” said Ruiz. “Ready to bring those belts back to Mexico. Well, they’ve never been in Mexico, but they’re going to be.”

It’s safe to say that Ruiz Jr. has little more than a puncher’s chance of winning this fight. He doesn’t have the height, reach or the agility to box his way to a decision over Joshua on Saturday.

If Ruiz stays on the outside, his goose is cooked. He can’t on the outside and exist against the long-armed Joshua. The 6’3″ Joseph Parker was helpless against the 6’6″ Joshua when he was at range in their fight in 2017. Joshua picked Parker apart with jabs and single right hands. The fight was boring to watch for boxing fans, because Parker couldn’t do anything.

A win for Ruiz Jr. on Saturday night over Joshua would be big news. It won’t make Wilder and Fury happy to see Joshua lose to Ruiz Jr., because that would decrease his popularity. What Ruiz Jr. is looking to do is beat Joshua, and then fight him again under more favorable terms. Joshua will need to give Ruiz Jr. a better deal for the rematch if he’s able to pull off an upset on Saturday night.

There’s obviously a rematch clause in the contract given that Ruiz is a voluntary challenger. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t bring up the rematch clause, because it’s almost unthinkable that he’s going to lose the fight. It’s possible though. It’s crazy to think about Ruiz Jr. causing an upset, but it would be interesting to see for a lot of boxing fans. They believe that Joshua has become too arrogant for his own good, and they want to see him knocked down a peg.

Joshua-Ruiz will be streamed on Saturday night on DAZN at 9:00 p.m. PT.