RUIZ JR GRABS HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN

ANDY Ruiz Jr. pulled off a spectacular upset on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, defeating Anthony Joshua, the previously unbeaten heavyweight world champion, by technical knockout after the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round.

No one had given Ruiz, a doughy Mexican fighter, a chance against Joshua, a chiseled, ascendant British star who had been fighting in front of crowds of 90, 000 fans in Britain.

But Ruiz stunned Joshua with furious punching flurries that left him stumbling and, at several points, on the canvas.

The largely pro-Joshua crowd had gone from thrilled to stun by the time the fight was over.

The upset had echoes of Buster Douglas’s shocking

upset of Mike Tyson nearly 30 years ago.

Joshua scored the first knockdown with a crisp left hand in the third round. But from then on Ruiz delivered most of the damaging blows. After getting off the canvas in the third round, Ruiz knocked down Joshua twice, starting with left hooks that led to relentless flurries.

On the second knockdown of the round, Joshua was saved by the bell.

In the seventh round, Ruiz again brought on a flurry of punches, starting with a left hook that dropped Joshua. About 30 seconds later, Joshua went down again.

He staggered to his corner and leaned on the ropes. After a brief conversation with Joshua, the referee stopped the fight and Ruiz’s camp stormed the ring in celebration.

Ruiz (33-1) became the first Mexican boxer to be a world heavyweight champion, capturing the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Association titles. - THE NEW YORK TIMES.