Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz believes Anthony Joshua certainly has the ability to upset the odds when he faces Oleksandr Usyk on August 20 in Saudi Arabia.
Ruiz created a shocker in June of 2019, when he dropped Joshua four times for a stoppage win to capture the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA titles. Six months later, Joshua reclaimed the unified crown when he outboxed Ruiz over twelve rounds for a dominant decision win.
Two fights later, the tables were turned when Usyk outboxed Joshua to claim the four heavyweight belts.
To prepare for the fight, Joshua parted ways with longtime trainer Robert McCracken and hired veteran coach Robert Garcia.
This time around, Joshua is viewed as the underdog - but Ruiz could see him pulling off the upset in the rematch.
“I think he [Joshua] can, you know," Ruiz Jr told FightHub TV when predicting the Usyk-Joshua rematch. "In the heavyweight division, anything could happen.
"It only takes one punch to change the fight. So, it’s all up to the one that’s more hungry. You know, Anthony Joshua goes down and he comes back up or he loses, and then he fights again to win. I don’t... Usyk is a hard guy too. You know, his style. He throws combinations."
Ruiz is currently training for his toughest fight since losing to Joshua. On September 4, he takes on dangerous Cuban boxer Luis Ortiz.
Should Ruiz win, he will place his focus on securing a trilogy fight with Joshua or a title clash with Usyk - with the overall direction depending on the outcome of next month's rematch.
"Hopefully if I win on September 4 against Luis Ortiz, if Joshua doesn't win then we could look for Usyk if he wins," Ruiz said.
