Heavyweight upset: Ruiz stuns Joshua

Heavy underdog drops Joshua four times, posts TKO

NEW YORK — Andy Ruiz had six weeks to prepare for the fight of his life.

He’ll have a lifetime to celebrate one of boxing’s biggest heavyweight stunners.

A massive underdog just like Buster Douglas, Ruiz knocked down British champion Anthony Joshua four times — four! — and the final two in the seventh round proved the decisive blows.

Ruiz, the first heavyweight of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight title, capped one of boxing’s epic upsets to win Joshua’s share of the heavyweight championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I just feel so good, man,” Ruiz said. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about, this is what I’ve been working hard for. I can’t believe I just made my dreams come true.”

Ruiz etched his name in heavyweight lore by TKO at 1:27 in the seventh round to become the surprise champ in a bout that had shades of Douglas’ upset of Mike Tyson for the heavyweight title in 1990. Ruiz barely was on anyone’s heavyweight radar when he was summoned as a replacement to fight champion Joshua in front of a packed Garden.

Considered a joke by fans, all Ruiz did was dominate the British champion and used a TKO to turn his life and the heavyweight division upside down. The 270-pound Ruiz knocked down Joshua twice in the third round and did it two more times in the seventh before referee Mike Griffin ended the fight.

He stepped in after fighting April 20, when he stopped Alexander Dimitrenko. Jarrell Miller’s failed drug tests sent the challenger to the sideline and paved the way for Ruiz’s unexpected title shot.

Ruiz (33-1, 21 KO’s) seized the opportunity and made boxing history to win the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO championships.

Ruiz raised his arms in celebration and jumped around the ring as his corner quickly mobbed him and a wild celebration kicked off.

“I’ve got that Mexican blood in me,” he said. “Talking about the Mexican style? I just proved it.”

When ring announcer Michael Buffer announced before the bout the name of the judges “should this fight go the distance,” fans laughed at the ridiculous possibility as Ruiz was nearly a 30-1 underdog.

Frank Franklin II The Associated Press Andy Ruiz knocks down WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the third round of their title fight Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Ruiz won by TKO in the seventh round.