I’M READY TO MOTOR
Ruiz aims to drive Joshua out of town
PETROLHEAD Andy Ruiz Jnr wants Anthony Joshua revved up for their rematch so he comes out swinging in Saudi Arabia.
The WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion enjoyed splashing his cash on four luxurious cars after stalling Joshua’s career on June 1.
But Ruiz Jnr insists he still has plenty of drive, despite earning around £15m for his two clashes with the British star.
He said: “I want him to be mad and swinging in the ring. I want him to have that attitude because I will be calm and know exactly what we need to do.
“I don’t know if I am his bogeyman, I think his style was just perfect for me and I think it will be the same again.
“I think he will box around nicely for four or five rounds until I take the pressure to him, start hitting his body and mixing it up.
“I did say he was not good enough to avoid me for the full 12 rounds, on the backfoot. We have been working on this for around three months from CHRIS McKENNA in Riyadh
now and I know, whatever he brings, we will be ready for it.
“The doubters were just wondering, ‘What happened to Anthony Joshua? There’s something wrong with him.’
“Truly, I think it was my style. It was the way that I handled him and that I took his punches.
“He gave me the hardest punches that he has and so I ate them. That is what we are going to be doing again.”
The closest they came to some real aggro was when Ruiz Jnr told Joshua he “quit” in the first fight during a Sky Sports show.
“I am pretty sure he was mad at me, I think he thought, ‘You mother **** er,’” said Ruiz Jnr. “Hopefully we can make him do it again.”
The Mexican-American continued winding Joshua up at Wednesday’s final press conference by wearing a New York Knicks shirt.
It was the jersey both fighters were given when they arrived at Madison Square Garden for their first fight.
There have been more than a few suggestions that Ruiz Jnr has been too busy enjoying an extravagant lifestyle now he is a multi-millionaire.
“Being rich and famous has been going really well. It can get a little overwhelming at times but this is what I dreamed of and worked towards,” said Mexico’s first world heavyweight champion.
He has certainly made time to enjoy his wealth, buying a mansion and diamond-encrusted jewellery.
“My maddest purchase is probably all of the cars that I bought,” he said.
“I bought four cars, two types of Mercedes G-Wagons, the brand new Rolls Royce and a Lamborghini truck, an SUV.
“I also bought my mum and dad a truck, we have been having fun.
“But my spending has not taken my competitive edge off.”
If Ruiz Jnr does pull off another shock, then he says manager Al Haymon will deliver a clash with WBC champion Deontay Wilder for the undisputed title.
“Me and Wilder actually talk on the phone, we are good friends,” added the champion.
“We know what is in the plan.”
from CHRIS McKENNA
LENNOX LEWIS is backing Anthony Joshua to set the record straight against Andy Ruiz Jnr.
And he has backed the Brit to win his belts back, despite the ongoing feud between the pair.
The 1988 Olympic champion lost his WBC and IBF titles to Hasim Rahman in 2001 before getting revenge seven months later.
And Lewis (inset) has backed Joshua to do the same against Ruiz tomorrow, saying: “He will have a different mindset. His mindset will be not to allow Ruiz to hurt him, not to let himself be in that position to be hurt.
There will be a little bit of movement from him I would imagine.”
Lewis insisted the bad blood between the pair is all down to
Joshua’s promoter
Eddie Hearn. AJ called Lewis a “clown” after he questioned him for not facing WBC champ Deontay Wilder.
But Lewis says they used to be close until Joshua beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 at Wembley.
“I went to see him fight – me and Evander Holyfield were there doing German TV,” Lewis told The Undefeated Podcast.
“We were outside the dressing room. Security brushed us out of the way and brushed him in there.
“I thought, ‘OK, they don’t want me around’. That was definitely the promoter, no doubt about that.
“There’s no hate, but you have just shown me your position.”