Anthony Joshua regained the IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight titles with a 12-round unanimous decision over Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch for their June 1st fight. The bout took place in Saudi Arabia.
Drama started early as Joshua caught Ruiz in round one with a right hand that opened up a cut around Ruiz left eye. In round two, Joshua was cut over his left eye.
Joshua showed a different style then the way he fought in his 1st 22 fights, as he boxed and moved throughout the whole fight. Ruiz landed a couple of left hooks, but it was Joshua, who worked behind a great jab and he mixed in some ripping right hands and an occasional left hook. Neither man was in any danger of being in trouble .
Joshua won by scores of 119-109 and 118-110 twice. Joshua, 237 lbs of London is now 23-1. Ruiz, 283.7 lbs of Imperial Valley, CA is 33-2.
Anthony Joshua
On his performance: “Man, the first time was so nice – I had to do it twice! A man like me don’t make no excuses, my boy Derek Chisora said I could do this if I am ready to D-I-E. And look, this is about boxing. I am used to knocking guys out. Last time, I hurt the man and I got caught coming in. I gave that man his credit. There was no excuses. I respect Andy and his family and his trainers so much. I just wanted to put on a great boxing masterclass and also show the sweet science of this lovely sport. It’s about hitting and not getting hit.”
On any mental changes: “Never a change in mentality. You know the saying, ‘Stay hungry, stay humble.’ I have stayed hungry and I have stayed humble. I am humble in defeat and I will remain humble in victory. Thank you again to Andy Ruiz and his family, to Saudi Arabia and all of the traveling fans, all of my supporters.”
On handling Andy Ruiz’s pressure: “It’s all about preparation. Like I said, one day when I release a book I will walk through my career’s experience. It’s just about creating great memories. I took my L and I bounced back. Life is a rollercoaster. I heard some people say that we should retire if we lose. Hey Andy, are you ready to retire? (Andy: ‘No way, let’s go again.’) Exactly, we are warriors.”
On a third fight: “Without a doubt. If you heard, we are going to do a third. He beat me fair and square the first time and I beat him fair and square the second time. So we will do it again. 100%.”
On where this win ranks in his career: “I just want to say I have the utmost respect for Andy Ruiz who beat me fair and square in the first exam. I failed the first time, but I came back and studied hard and passed this time. But this ranks second. The first would be my fight against Wladimir Klitschko. It means so much to me and I learned so much from that fight. I respect Wladimir so much and he gives me so much advice still. This fight ranks number two though.”
On being disciplined in this fight: “I know that my fans like to see me knock people out and I can do that but sometimes with certain fighters you have to box smarter.”
On fighting Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury: “What can I say? I have been speaking about these guys a long time. You see this time, when I had the opportunity to just focus solely on Andy, my head is in the right place. When Wilder, Fury, Ortiz and Usyk are really ready, they will make the call. Until then, I respect them. I won’t continue to call them out. I am making my own lane and if they want to be a part of that, they will call. Ruiz did it and created a legacy. If those guys want to do it, they can create a legacy too. Look at all I have done, come on. When I call them out and do all of that, I lose focus.”
Andy Ruiz Jr
On his performance: “It was his night. I don’t think I prepared as good as I should have. I gained too much weight but I don’t want to give no excuses. He won, he boxed me around but if we do the third, best believe I will come in the best shape of my life.”
On his higher weight being an issue: “It kind of affected me a lot. I thought I would come in stronger and better. But you know what, next time I am going to prepare better with my team. This time I tried to train myself at times to get prepared but no excuses. Anthony Joshua did a hell of a job. Thanks to everyone in Saudi Arabia who supported.”
On pressuring AJ: “I think I was chasing him too much instead of cutting off the ring. I just felt like I couldn’t throw my combinations. But who wants to see this third fight?”
Eddie Hearn
On what’s next: “We are going to celebrate. Anthony Joshua is an amazing ambassador for the sport. He has given everything to this sport. Tonight, in Saudi Arabia, he becomes the two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World and that is beautiful.
On his performance: “It was an absolute masterclass. He was able to stay disciplined. People have doubted his boxing ability, his endurance. He was humiliated at Madison Square Garden. It was the American coming out party and it was ruined. He could have brushed himself down and went off. Instead he came back and put on that performance and it was beautiful. That’s the sweet science. That was like Picasso on a canvas, paining a masterpiece.”
On Anthony’s comeback: “They wrote him off. They said he was all hype. He had to come back from humiliation at Madison Square Garden. Tonight, he is the governor. The governor of the division.”
On fighting in Saudi Arabia: “We got criticized for coming here but these people have been amazing. The vision they have for boxing in this region is incredible and they delivered.
On AJ becoming undisputed Heavyweight champion: “Tonight is about becoming the two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World. We can talk about that later. We’ve wanted the undisputed for years and years. We will do what Anthony wants to do and he’s always wanted to be undisputed. People listen to rubbish that he doesn’t want it and you know what, we won’t give them this. We aren’t even going to give them the airtime. He is the king. They wrote him off and said he all hype but look, he’s back. He is the king again. He is the one who continues to step up – Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s resume don’t even stack up. They world stopped to watch Anthony Joshua become the two-time World Heavyweight Champion today and it was all live on DAZN, baby.”
On fighting Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury: “Anthony has been chasing them for years. Those fights will happen. Maybe they were right to walk away from those fights back then because the fight is worth much more now. AJ wants the legacy. He created that legacy tonight in Saudi Arabia. He sells out arenas around the world. He is transforming boxing. These other guys can’t lace his boots! He is only 24 fights in and he is only going to get better.”
Michael Hunter and former world champion Alexander Povetkin battled to a spirited 12-round split draw.
Both guys were hurt and wobbled during the fight.
Each fighter won a scored card by a 115-113 margin, and a 3rd card was 114-114.
Povetkin, 229.3 lbs of Russia is 35-2-1. Hunter, 226.8 lbs of Las Vegas is 18-1-1.
Dillian Whyte won a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Mariusz Wach in a heavyweight bout.
Whyte won the fight be working the body and landing some hard right hands. Wach landed a few hard rights throughout the contest.
Whyte, 271.1 lbs of London won by scores of 98-93 and 97-93 twice and is now 27-1. Wach, 270 lbs of Krackow, POL is 35-6.
Filip Hrgovic stopped former two-time world title challenger in round three of a scheduled 12-round heavyweight bout.
Hrgovic dropped Molina in round’s one and two, but referee Ian John Lewis ruled the shots were behind the head. later in round two, Hrgovic was credited with a knockdown after landing a thudding right to the body. In round three, Hrgovc landed a hard right to head that sent Molina down for the count at 2:03
Hrgovic, 241.1 lbs of Zagreb, CRO is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Molina, 248 lbs of Rio Grande, TX is 27-6.
“This is war, man. You use all your weapons,” said Hrgovi?. “I am ready for anyone, I want to fight the biggest names in the division, and I hope these warriors will accept.
“AJ and Wilder took longer to knock him out so I’ve made a statement. There were some technical mistakes so I still need to improve, but I have the best chin in the division. He gave me 3 or 4 of his best punches and never hurt me once.
“I would like to box in the UK. Give me the biggest names, Chisora, Whyte, I will fight anyone. I can be a World Champion in my next few fights.”
Mahammadrasul Majidov stopped Tom Little in round two of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.
In round two, Majidov landed a huge chopping right to the head that sent Majidov to the canvas. Little tried to fight back, but continued to take punishment and hard combination forced a referee stoppage at 1:49.
Majidov, 231 lbs of Baku, AZN is now 2-0 with two knockouts. Little, 251 lbs of Hatfield, UK is 10-9.
Hopey Price stopped Sweti Mohamed in the 3rd round of their four-round bantamweight bout.
Price, 125.9 lbs of Leeds, UK is 2-0 with one stoppage. Mohamed, 125.1 lbs of Tanzania is 12-7-2.
Diego Pacheco destroyed Selemani Said in the 1st round of their scheduled four-round super middleweight bout.
Pacheco dropped Saidi with a vicious right that sent Saidi down for several minutes.
Pacheco, 167.1 lbs of South Central Los Angeles is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Saidi, 166.8 lbs of Tanania is 20-16-5.
