Rumours are that AJ got a concussion from sparring during/close to fight week

[i_am_a_champ]

That won’t surprise me, I heard from a good source that Joey Dawejko guy from Philly he used for sparring was giving him major problems.

This.

I heard from a reputable source AJ was out cold and hurt in sparring. So bad they werent going to clear him to fight. He did not train during the rest of the week , thats how bad it was

[Clegg]

He did look nervous before the opening bell, but nowadays everyone on twitter wants to get attention by making up a story to connect the dots. He looked like the occassion got to him a little, but he didn't look concussed until he got caught with knockdown punches.

[Redd Foxx]

He did look nervous before the opening bell, but nowadays everyone on twitter wants to get attention by making up a story to connect the dots. He looked like the occassion got to him a little, but he didn't look concussed until he got caught with knockdown punches.

I'm not exaggerating, before every single AJ fight I've thought the guy looked nervous. I've commented on it here and had people go off saying I was making things up.
I do think hindsight is 20/20 and people connect the dots. If Ruiz didn't get back up, no one would have said or thought AJ was acting strange.

Also, it's really unusual to do hard sparring this close to a fight. Specifically for this reason.

[xvG-MONEYvx]

Supposedly? What is your source? We are all supposed to just take your word for it?

[BillyBoxing]

Respect to you, because you're one of the most solid guys on here, I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that AJ got too aggressive after the kd, that body shots kept him from getting his breath back, that he was planting his feet in front of a guy who was hoping and praying AJ would plant his feet.
I think people say he acted weird because that's what they say every time an upset happens.

Being ktfo could have an impact on everything you said since his punch recovery and mindset would be affected.

Anyway, if he got koed in sparring, then that's his own and also team's problem.

He got beat, period, let's.see what AJ is made of in his next real fight

[New England]

Whatever happened Ruiz was the better man on the night.

Joshua has got terrible punch resistance and recovery - it's clear to see, even before the Ruiz fight.

that is not in the british vocabulary. joshua was poisoned! he was sick!

ruiz was punching! it was a fluke!

[New England]

rumours are that british boxing fans are sore losers wtih the maturity of a fifteen year old girl.


ruiz took the fight on 4-5 weeks notice and kicked joshua's ass. joshua better be more worried about the rematch than his excuses for the loss in fight #1. F#cking deal with it, p#ssies. act like you been there, even though we all know you have not.

[Sharpharp]

This.

I heard from a reputable source AJ was out cold and hurt in sparring. So bad they werent going to clear him to fight. He did not train during the rest of the week , thats how bad it was

LOL, your mama isn't classed as reputable

[MDPopescu]

... this kind of "manufactured", "protected" and "over-emotive" fighters should not stop fighting in the "backyard"... (they will never recover from a loss)... You'll see...

[Granath]

Supposedly he was knocked out during sparring and got a concussion.... I don’t know how close to fight week.

Because of this his Dad wanted the fight cancelled or postponed but Hearn wouldn’t allow it due to the publicity and potential financial losses. That’s possibly why his Dad was having a real go at Hearn after the fight.

This would also explain why AJ seemed lost in the corner from the first round and asking what to do and why he was feeling like that etc. He also looked kinda ****** up with bruises and swollen eyes.

If it’s true then it’s definitely a bad look for Hearn.

There’s no official reports of this yet but something definitely seemed off from the start and this would go some way towards explaining it.

This isn’t making excuses by the way, it really would be a sign of how they terribly underestimated Ruiz though.

If so, it's not simply a bad look for Hearn. If Joshua had a concussion and Hearn knew about it and got into the ring, that's life threatening. Boxers have died that way. It would be considered dangerous, reckless and should result in him being banned from the sport for life.

That's of course if it happened and that is one giant-sized IF.