By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Whenever and wherever their rematch takes place, Chris Arreola expects Andy Ruiz Jr. to beat Anthony Joshua again.
Based on what he witnessed June 1, Arreola doesn’t think Joshua has the skill set to win back the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles from his fellow Mexican-American heavyweight.
“I honestly see Ruiz winning again,” Arreola told BoxingScene.com following an open workout Wednesday at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. “His style is – you know how they say styles make fights. And his style is just not good for Anthony Joshua. Honestly, I feel like Anthony Joshua doesn’t know how to fight on the inside. You know, he’s a UK fighter and, for me, the way I see them is like real standup fighters that like fighting from the [outside]. And once you’re inside, they’re lost. And that’s what happened with Ruiz.”
The 29-year-old Ruiz, of Imperial, California, knocked down Joshua four times and stopped him in the seventh round June 1 at Madison Square Garden. His stunning victory is commonly considered boxing’s biggest upset since Hasim Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round of their heavyweight title fight in April 2001.
Ruiz is contractually obligated to give Joshua an immediate rematch. Their second fight could take place December 14 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, according to Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter.
Despite the devastating nature of his loss to Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), Arreola at least feels Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) will be mentally prepared for an immediate rematch.
“Boxers have a short memory, man,” Arreola said. “We don’t care about what happened last week. We don’t care about what happened a year ago. All that matters is what’s gonna happen the next fight. Who cares what happened with me and Jean [Augustin]? Who cares, now that I’m fighting Kownacki? You know what I mean? My last fight don’t mean nothing. This fight’s the fight’s that’s important.”
The 38-year-old Arreola (38-5-1, 33 KOs, 2 NC), of Riverside, California, and Brooklyn’s Adam Kownacki (19-0, 15 KOs) will square off Saturday night in a 12-round main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (FOX; 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.