Andy Ruiz Jr., though viewed as a massive underdog, created a big shock in the boxing world ; knocking out British fighter Anthony Joshua, born in Nigeria.
Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) made sure he was spoiling the long-awaited U.S. debut of unified heavyweight champion Joshua to score four knockdowns before recording a spectacular upset at Madison Square Garden via seventh-round TKO.
It wasn’t an easy win for Ruiz, though, because he had to get out of the canvas early in Round 3 to do almost impossible what oddsmakers felt.
In fact, Ruiz showed tremendous tenacity, power and fearlessness in systematically dismantling Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) to flip upside down the division of heavyweight.
Ruiz, 29, a southern California native, became Mexican descent’s first boxer to win a heavyweight title as he captured the IBF, WBA, and WBO titles of Joshua in one night.
This upset is probably the biggest in the division for boxing bluffs since Hasim Rahman stopped Lennox Lewis in 2001 and brought back memories of the 1990 win over Mike Tyson by James “Buster” Douglas.
“I would just like to thank God for this victory for me. This would not have been possible without him,” Ruiz said. “I’ve been dreaming about this. That’s what I worked hard for, and I can’t believe I’ve just realized my dreams.”
Ruiz jumped around the ring in wild celebration with the sold-out crowd, largely in favor of Joshua, stunned and silent after the stop.
“Big respect to Andy, big big respect,” Joshua said. “[He’s a] good fighter. Thank you America. Thank you everyone for coming out this evening. Sorry I let my friends down, sorry I let my supporters down.”
After Joshua landed a beautiful two-punch combination to floor Ruiz, the third round should easily go down as the best of 2019.
The Mexican, however, seemed to have gained more energy from that setback as he quickly caught Joshua with a left hook and right hand to drop him to the top of the head.
Ruiz followed in the corner with an unanswered 12-punch flurry that fell a second time to Joshua as the champion was lucky to survive the round.
“That was my first time getting dropped on the floor,” Ruiz said. “But you know what, it just made me stronger and made me want it even more. I just had to knock him down back.
“I didn’t want to throw everything that I got. I wanted to hunt him down even more, work the body, work the head and just listen to the game plan. We just pulled it off, man.”
On his part, still reacting to how things went for him in the ring, Joshua admitted he had no excuse and would take the blame for the disappointing loss.
“There’s no excuses. It’s my own fault. I got caught with a big shot,” Joshua said. “Congratulations to him. I would have preferred it to be Deontay Wilder, do you know what I mean? But it wasn’t. It was Andy Ruiz, and he deserves it, and the fame and fortune he’s about to receive.
“I don’t want anyone to kind of drown in their sorrows. This is boxing. It’s all the same. It just wasn’t my night. It was Andy Ruiz’s night. You know what? It’s good for the TV. It’s good for DAZN. It gets people watching.”
Joshua is expected to seek a rematch as soon as possible as that clause has been inserted into the bout contract.
