![]() ![]() Joshua had said defeat would have been "catastrophic" for a career that promised so much, delivered plenty and then, from nowhere, was shaken to its core. But if he shoots for titles again, he will simply need to be better. He can live the rest of his life as a former world champion who stunned boxing. He will at least leave with a career-high pay day in excess of £10m. And as Saudi royalty watched on at ringside, Ruiz was consistently unpicked and outmanoeuvred. Only Nikolai Valuev - who was 7ft tall - has weighed more and held a world title. ![]() Hauling 20st 3lb around a ring is no easy feat. Douglas lost easily to Holyfield months later and as the scorecards widened on Saturday and Ruiz ate shots, it looked as if his new status and its attached distractions might have taken a similar toll. His weight gain of 15lb was the same as James 'Buster' Douglas piled on after stunning Mike Tyson in 1990. Some seeing Ruiz's showing here will ask what was wrong with Joshua in their first meeting - the Mexican was never able to rediscover the heights he hit in New York. 5 Live Boxing podcast: AJ's masterclass & Ruiz disrespects world titleĪnthony Joshua won his world titles back at the first attempt Brave Ruiz pays for distraction.Listen: Highlights of Joshua & Ruiz's 'Clash on the Dunes'.It was the look of a man who had proved his point. ![]() Joshua glared out at the crowd as the bell sounded. ![]() After a night of lateral movement and poise, it was never going to happen. Again, the incredible durability of the champion and the constant threat he carried was evident.ĭeep in the 12th, Ruiz beat his chest as if to dare Joshua close. He landed a solid uppercut but saw Ruiz fire back wildly instantly. The ninth felt key, Joshua needed to establish distance again. The crowd stamped their feet while Ruiz's fighting compatriot Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez stood and screamed ringside. As the pair tangled, Ruiz made things ugly and winged in a hook. There was always tension given the speed with which Ruiz's gold gloves can move, and in the eighth he served up a first scare. A crowd unfamiliar with the sweet science at such close quarters offered audible applause and cheers as the smart work landed. He was burning energy but was slick and showed variety in working head and body in the third. He landed two jabs of his own in the second but took a left hook as Joshua moved with the lightness of a man at his lowest weight in five years. Ruiz, the bookmakers' underdog again, was cut above his left eye in the first. Seconds before the off, Ruiz was told "let's go Andy" by his corner but he was rarely allowed to get close to his rival and inflict the damage he did in the first fight. His answer was emphatic.Ī downpour in a country that barely sees rain stopped moments before Joshua strode to the ring, prompting him to carefully dry his feet on the canvas.įrom that moment on, his feet moved with grace. The question in Saudi Arabia was whether Joshua could show the same mental fortitude after being knocked down four times by Ruiz in June. Patterson fell to the canvas seven times in one round as he lost his belts to Ingemar Johansson in 1959 but regained them in a rematch. Joshua, 30, now joins a small cluster of men including Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Floyd Patterson to have reclaimed the world heavyweight title. 'A genius performance' - Anthony Joshua on beating Andy Ruiz Jr Joshua gets it right all night ![]()
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