Finally watched AJ vs Ruiz - Here are my thoughts

[boogbx]

I see your point but disagree. If a master technician in Fury couldn’t avoid him for 12, what makes you Think AJ could?

Also Wilder has been stunned but never down. Joshua has been down and out so no question Wilder catches him and sleeps
Him.

[LacedUp]

I see your point but disagree. If a master technician in Fury couldn’t avoid him for 12, what makes you Think AJ could?

Also Wilder has been stunned but never down. Joshua has been down and out so no question Wilder catches him and sleeps
Him.

Wilder needs to prove it in the ring, not on the keyboard unfortunately.

Could it happen? Of course. But it's no certainty.

[TyrantT316]

I don't agree with the notion that he quit because I think he was just so concussed that he couldn't get his mind, heart and body in sync to respond the way the ref needed. I also think he was looking for a mouthpiece break.

However, I agree that this wasn't Lewis McCall. Lewis got straight up caught in the heat of an exchange.

AJ just couldn't handle Ruiz's speed combinations and counters. Every time Joshua would commit and lean in with a punch, Ruiz patiently waited from his distance, then responded as AJ was finishing his punch or combinations. He was properly beaten.

I also agree that AJ simply seemed in a different place. Whether it was having an opponent he wasn't invested in/completely prepared for or figuring out how to mentally handle being out of his comfort zone from England to America. He seemed like he wasn't all with it in confidence.

He seems like a humble and motivated guy. He was motivated for Wlad and motivated for Miller. I don't think he saw Ruiz Jr. as someone to be motivated for. As if he was almost embarrassed to be fighting a fighter he doesn't feel much for on his American debut. I think he felt he'd just go through the motions.

My other thought was simply nerves. Nerves with the pressure and nerves fighting someone new, who while he knows doesn't "look" the part, truly may be the part and wondering if he was getting the short end of the stick by defending vs someone he wasn't fully prepared for.

[The Big Dunn]

I didn't get to see the fight live as I had been up to 6-7 am watching Liverpool win the champions league! Caught the Coyle vs Algieri scrap and the Buatsi fight, as well as that 1 round middleweight fight before falling asleep... thinking AJ probably had a relatively easy night infront of him anyway.

Obviously I was as shocked as you all were when I woke up and saw he'd been knocked out, and not just knocked out but beaten up.

Well now i've finally watched the whole fight, from before the ring-walk until seeing AJs dad wanting to fight Eddie Hearn. lol.

First of all

AJ didn't look right to me in the dressing room.

This is not an excuse as much as it is a criticism of him. He looked half nervous half head somewhere else. In hindsight it's easy to say of course but he didn't look his usual self. He's usually so relaxed, smiling etc and honestly, he looked nervous to me.

In the dressing room, during the ring walk and when he came into the ring. Just looked like he was not focused, and perhaps that he had carried something into the fight.

Now, I don't think it was an injury, but more like he'd been hurt in sparring leading up to the fight. He had marks all over his face in the final week which screams of someone desperate to get the last bit of sparring in. That's always bad.

The fight itself

He looked OK in the first few rounds, until he dropped Ruiz. But I don't get why he immediately stepped back instead of taking center of the ring against the smaller fighter. Again, tells me he was lacking confidence.

He got desperate and went for the KO of a guy who was not ready to get knocked out and got himself beaten.

And beaten badly.

This is not lewis vs mccall

AJ was properly beaten. He took a beating imo. Mentally and physically, and I think it's entirely fair of everyone to consider whether he's in fact a hypejob.

Of course we will know more about this in the rematch, but for the moment it's entirely plausible. It'll be interesting to see what AJ does from here on out.

He was not only beaten by the better man on the night, but just quite probably the better man.

Did he quit?

Yes I think he did. I don't know if he was concussed or whatever, but to me he didn't look like it. He just looked like a guy who had enough.

I've never been one to criticize 'quitters' so to speak. I'm not the guy in the ring, so I can't pass judgement. But he certainly seemed to quit. That's my honest assessment.

Andy Ruiz

Could this have happened to a better guy?
Honestly, this guy is such a nice guy and strikes me as someone who this would never happen to, know what I mean?

I'd rather have wanted Wilder to be the man who did this for obvious reasons, but a close second is Andy Ruiz.

A few of us on the forum did note he was a proper fighter before the fight, now everyone seems to be geniuses "knowing this would happen". That's ridiculous.

He wasn't lucky, he was better.

Knocked him down, knocked him out.
Champ.

Good post.

I also think you should consider how he behaved during the lead up to the fight. He seemed to be more focused on his branding opportunities and talking about Wilder than the opponent in front of him. Hearn also did AJ no favors by not securing an opponent whose skill set was so diverse.

In retrospect maybe you just pay Ortiz the extra money because he would've been far easier for AJ than Ruiz.

[champion4ever]

I didn't get to see the fight live as I had been up to 6-7 am watching Liverpool win the champions league! Caught the Coyle vs Algieri scrap and the Buatsi fight, as well as that 1 round middleweight fight before falling asleep... thinking AJ probably had a relatively easy night infront of him anyway.

Obviously I was as shocked as you all were when I woke up and saw he'd been knocked out, and not just knocked out but beaten up.

Well now i've finally watched the whole fight, from before the ring-walk until seeing AJs dad wanting to fight Eddie Hearn. lol.

First of all

AJ didn't look right to me in the dressing room.

This is not an excuse as much as it is a criticism of him. He looked half nervous half head somewhere else. In hindsight it's easy to say of course but he didn't look his usual self. He's usually so relaxed, smiling etc and honestly, he looked nervous to me.

In the dressing room, during the ring walk and when he came into the ring. Just looked like he was not focused, and perhaps that he had carried something into the fight.

Now, I don't think it was an injury, but more like he'd been hurt in sparring leading up to the fight. He had marks all over his face in the final week which screams of someone desperate to get the last bit of sparring in. That's always bad.

The fight itself

He looked OK in the first few rounds, until he dropped Ruiz. But I don't get why he immediately stepped back instead of taking center of the ring against the smaller fighter. Again, tells me he was lacking confidence.

He got desperate and went for the KO of a guy who was not ready to get knocked out and got himself beaten.

And beaten badly.

This is not lewis vs mccall

AJ was properly beaten. He took a beating imo. Mentally and physically, and I think it's entirely fair of everyone to consider whether he's in fact a hypejob.

Of course we will know more about this in the rematch, but for the moment it's entirely plausible. It'll be interesting to see what AJ does from here on out.

He was not only beaten by the better man on the night, but just quite probably the better man.

Did he quit?

Yes I think he did. I don't know if he was concussed or whatever, but to me he didn't look like it. He just looked like a guy who had enough.

I've never been one to criticize 'quitters' so to speak. I'm not the guy in the ring, so I can't pass judgement. But he certainly seemed to quit. That's my honest assessment.

Andy Ruiz

Could this have happened to a better guy?
Honestly, this guy is such a nice guy and strikes me as someone who this would never happen to, know what I mean?

I'd rather have wanted Wilder to be the man who did this for obvious reasons, but a close second is Andy Ruiz.

A few of us on the forum did note he was a proper fighter before the fight, now everyone seems to be geniuses "knowing this would happen". That's ridiculous.

He wasn't lucky, he was better.

Knocked him down, knocked him out.
Champ.

Laced, I know that we don't always agree but that was awfully honest and gracious of you to say about both fighters; Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz , Jr. It was very well said!

I must admit, that you have proven yourself to be a man of great honor, integrity, character and self-worth with this post. You are only a handful of posters on this forum that I respect.

So job well done mate!

[LacedUp]

Good post.

I also think you should consider how he behaved during the lead up to the fight. He seemed to be more focused on his branding opportunities and talking about Wilder than the opponent in front of him. Hearn also did AJ no favors by not securing an opponent whose skill set was so diverse.

In retrospect maybe you just pay Ortiz the extra money because he would've been far easier for AJ than Ruiz.

Ortiz doesn't have the same speed as Ruiz but I don't think he necessarily would be easier than Ruiz.

In retrospect, they should have probably cancelled the event or choose someone like Trevor Bryant that AJ could look good againstt.

We've seen that AJ doesn't perform well against smaller fighters.

[Legends456]

I didn't get to see the fight live as I had been up to 6-7 am watching Liverpool win the champions league! Caught the Coyle vs Algieri scrap and the Buatsi fight, as well as that 1 round middleweight fight before falling asleep... thinking AJ probably had a relatively easy night infront of him anyway.

Obviously I was as shocked as you all were when I woke up and saw he'd been knocked out, and not just knocked out but beaten up.

Well now i've finally watched the whole fight, from before the ring-walk until seeing AJs dad wanting to fight Eddie Hearn. lol.

First of all

AJ didn't look right to me in the dressing room.

This is not an excuse as much as it is a criticism of him. He looked half nervous half head somewhere else. In hindsight it's easy to say of course but he didn't look his usual self. He's usually so relaxed, smiling etc and honestly, he looked nervous to me.

In the dressing room, during the ring walk and when he came into the ring. Just looked like he was not focused, and perhaps that he had carried something into the fight.

Now, I don't think it was an injury, but more like he'd been hurt in sparring leading up to the fight. He had marks all over his face in the final week which screams of someone desperate to get the last bit of sparring in. That's always bad.

The fight itself

He looked OK in the first few rounds, until he dropped Ruiz. But I don't get why he immediately stepped back instead of taking center of the ring against the smaller fighter. Again, tells me he was lacking confidence.

He got desperate and went for the KO of a guy who was not ready to get knocked out and got himself beaten.

And beaten badly.

This is not lewis vs mccall

AJ was properly beaten. He took a beating imo. Mentally and physically, and I think it's entirely fair of everyone to consider whether he's in fact a hypejob.

Of course we will know more about this in the rematch, but for the moment it's entirely plausible. It'll be interesting to see what AJ does from here on out.

He was not only beaten by the better man on the night, but just quite probably the better man.

Did he quit?

Yes I think he did. I don't know if he was concussed or whatever, but to me he didn't look like it. He just looked like a guy who had enough.

I've never been one to criticize 'quitters' so to speak. I'm not the guy in the ring, so I can't pass judgement. But he certainly seemed to quit. That's my honest assessment.

Andy Ruiz

Could this have happened to a better guy?
Honestly, this guy is such a nice guy and strikes me as someone who this would never happen to, know what I mean?

I'd rather have wanted Wilder to be the man who did this for obvious reasons, but a close second is Andy Ruiz.

A few of us on the forum did note he was a proper fighter before the fight, now everyone seems to be geniuses "knowing this would happen". That's ridiculous.

He wasn't lucky, he was better.

Knocked him down, knocked him out.
Champ.

Better than the real articles! You could be a boxing journalist

[LacedUp]

Better than the real articles! You could be a boxing journalist

I was for a few years!

[Boxing Goat]

Me neither, but he really showed up! he looked pretty awesome actually.

Haha, I hope Wilder wins, we need one champion!

Do you think that AJ would have still beaten Wilder on the night?

[LacedUp]

Do you think that AJ would have still beaten Wilder on the night?

As in if the same AJ showed up against Wilder?

No I don't.