Joshua wins desert duel
Champ tight-lipped on future after reclaiming world titles
ANTHONY JOSHUA would not be drawn on his future plans after regaining his world heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz yesterday. The British star won back his WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a one-sided unanimous defeat of Ruiz in Diriyah outside Saudi Arabia’s capital.
The victory reinstates Joshua as a major player in boxing’s most glamorous division, and instantly renews speculation about a possible unification superfight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
But Joshua, 30, said while he remained open to a fight with the unbeaten Wilder, he would not “chase” the fight.
“It’s difficult to unite them,” said Joshua, who had seen negotiations with Wilder’s camp fall flat several times before his defeat to Ruiz in June.
“We’ll see what happens. Chasing that fight wasn’t playing to my benefit, so I’m going to let the path takes it course.
“When the opportunity presents itself to become unified heavyweight champion I’ll take it.”
Ruiz blamed three months of partying for his one-sided championship defeat, admitting he had failed to train seriously for his first title defence.
Ruiz had drawn gasps of disbelief on Friday when the weighin revealed he had ballooned to 128.4kg, 6.8kg heavier than his fighting weight six months ago.
Ruiz’s poor conditioning was ruthlessly exposed by Joshua, who nimbly outboxed the chubby champion.
“Three months of partying and celebrating affected me, what can I say?” Ruiz told reporters after the fight.
Asked what he’d do differently if granted a rematch with Joshua, Ruiz replied: “Listen to my coach. Listen to my dad. And take it more seriously.”
Ruiz is eager for a third meeting with Joshua. Although Joshua indicated he would be happy to face the Mexican-American again, that fight is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
In the short term, Joshua faces mandatory title defences against IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev and WBO contender Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua, meanwhile, said he had never doubted his ability to regain the titles despite his shocking defeat in New York. “I’ve said it was like sitting an exam,” Joshua said. “I failed the exam first time. This time though I studied, prepared and I just knew I was going to pass.”
Joshua also defended his cagey tactical style, saying he had consciously avoided being sucked into a slugfest against the hard-hitting Ruiz.
“I had a gameplan, I had a strategy and I wanted to follow it through.
“I can knock people out when I want to, and I can box when I want to. Tonight was just about winning.
“If I box for the crowd, or box for other people’s opinions, I might not have been victorious.
“So I’m just going to follow my instincts and box for myself.” –
AFP