When Oscar De La Hoya is asked to wear his prognosticator hat, his prediction for the rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua is given to his fellow Mexican countryman.
“I think we’re going to have the same result,” said De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy Promotions. “Andy Ruiz probably has his number. Ruiz is going to get better, faster and stronger. I don’t think Anthony Joshua is going to correct anything.”
Canelo Alvarez, the star of De La Hoya’s stable, and boxing, will attend the Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) versus Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) fight in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, which will stream on DAZN.
De La Hoya said if he’s ever offered a sizable fee much like Matchroom head Eddie Hearn scored in Saudi Arabia, to stage a fight with Alvarez, or any of his world champions, he’d “absolutely” take the fight there.
Although the Hall of Fame fighter never fought outside of the US in any of his 45 career fights, he knows all about high stakes rematches.
The Golden Boy twice stopped Julio Cesar Chavez in 1996 and 1998, but twice lost to “Sugar” Shane Mosley via decision in 2000 and 2003.
De La Hoya thinks Joshua won’t make the necessary corrections that will be needed to win the fight.
“[Joshua’s] been fighting the same way for all these years,” said De La Hoya. “As a fighter, it doesn’t make me think that he can change things up. But who knows. In boxing, when you’re a heavyweight and have that heavy punch, anything can change. I just think Ruiz has the better chin, and has less distractions than what Joshua has.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.
