Don’t anyone be fooled by flabby Ruiz, says Joshua
ANTHONY JOsHuA is not judging the opponent for his American debut by appearances, and he urges the rest of us not to do so, either.
Andy Ruiz Jr is one of the portlier pugilists and his claim that he is about to become the first heavyweight of Mexican origin to win that world title is often derided.
‘That’s because of the aesthetics,’ says Joshua as he prepares to defend his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts at Madison square Garden.
‘Put a six-pack on Ruiz, add some pecs then look at his record and people would say here is a potential world champion.’
At 6ft 2in, Californiaborn Ruiz will stand four inches shorter than Joshua, but at anything up to 20lbs heavier, he will look a lot wider, not to mention flabbier, than the muscular former Olympic gold medallist.
‘But boxing’s not about body-building,’ says Joshua. ‘If it was, you could go into one of those gyms and pick up 15 heavyweight contenders. It’s what’s inside that matters. Ruiz has the heart and mentality. He has the dedication, puts in all the hard work.’
Ruiz Jr has won 32 of his 33 fights, 21 of them by knockout. The one defeat came when many thought he was robbed by hometown New Zealand judges in his only world title shot hitherto, against Joseph Parker.
‘That one decision is the reason he’s not widely known yet,’ says Joshua. ‘He’s jumped at this chance to prove he is a force to be reckoned with.
‘People keep saying: “AJ’s going to bash this guy in two or three rounds”, but he works the body from the start with a stabbing jab and that can slow you down early.
‘He has good punch selection, looking to pick the shots which can do damage without wasting energy.
‘He’s got a good guard while stalking you down. I haven’t seen him get tired in a fight yet, either. That shows he has a focused, one-track mind when he’s fighting.’
so much for the stalking, how about the trash-talking?
The challenger has labelled the champion ‘robotic’ and Joshua says that could be a mistake, explaining with a chuckle: ‘I’m going to smack him up now.
‘If he wants to go down that route, I’m gonna want to break his jaw and hurt him really bad.
‘But if he wants a boxing match and just gets hit with a shot from me he doesn’t see coming, then we shake hands.
‘I much prefer mutual respect. The way it has been with the likes of (Wladimir) Klitschko and (Alexander) Povetkin. That’s just how I was brought up.’