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Anthony Joshua – undefeated, undisputed champion, holder of 4 of the 5 belts, the most bankable British boxer, the ‘A-side’, the one to ‘expose’ the ‘protected’ Wilder, the one to ‘take over America in Wilder’s own backyard’, just suffered a humiliating defeat to an underdog that does not even rank in the top 10 and, quite frankly, completely out of shape for a heavyweight contender. ‘Humiliating’ because Joshua lost the battle mentally far before he lost it physically.
Is it about skills? Does he need to change his trainer? I don’t think so. Joshua’s got decent defensive and offensive skills. He’s not the best in the business – at the level of Tyson Fury – but neither was his opponent or potential future opponents. Yes, he lacks in head movement. However, he has shown decent body movement, combinations, jabs and positioning in his previous fights.
It takes no genius to figure out how to control a shorter fight with less reach. Given his jabs, he should have been able to control the distance and not shy away from taking advantage of a charging shorter opponent. If Ruiz studied Mike Tyson, Joshua must have studied Buster Douglas. A fast-moving Joshua could take advantage of a Ruiz charging in, off-balance, and more open. And the effect of a punch when you are charging in is that much greater.
There is certainly room for improvement. Not getting hit is the best boxing skill to have. Given Joshua’s size, reach, and athletic body, it should not have been too difficult. He definitely needs to work on that. He also needs to be much more agile in the ring. Part of dodging the opponent’s offenses includes not being too stationary.
Was Ruiz too good for him? Andy Ruiz is better skilled than his body makes one believe. Looking at him, you would think he is a cab driver that hit the gym a few times before showing up in the ring for a small payday. He is certainly better than that.
Ruiz also has a good chin. The guy can take a few shots and, most importantly, recover from shots. He has a good will to fight. Couple that with good hand speed means he is willing to take some shots to throw a few of his own. However, make no mistake…Ruiz is no Mike Tyson or David Tua or Joe Frazier. He doesn’t have that great a chin neither is he the same kind of a relentless warrior.
I am yet to see a totally battered Ruiz, eyes nearly shut and a swollen face, still willing to fight. Also, while he may have good hand speed, there is no evidence he is a devastating puncher either. Fact is, he hasn’t really fought a top contender before and won the fight. While his fight against Parker can be argued, he definitely did not outclass Parker in any field nor did his punches take a heavy toll on Parker.
Does Anthony Joshua have a glass chin? Is he as powerful as he looks? That is certainly questionable and those with doubts won’t be entirely wrong. I wouldn’t say Andy Ruiz had that many clean shots to cause a concussion or make him look so confused. Again, top heavyweights from the past – Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, Tua, Ruddock, Foreman, Frazier, Shavers, etc. have had great chins. They could take clean shots from power hitters and yet survive or at least recover quickly.
Joshua hasn’t been badly hit before. He was shaken by Povetkin, Takam, Whyte, and the famous Klitschko. Those times, he was able to bounce back and control the rest of the fight. On June 1, however, he seemed to be more affected by Ruiz and did not look in total control of the fight afterwards.
What went wrong? Simply put, Joshua was not able to take the pressure on him on June 1 and lost the battle mentally. He lost the battle mentally far before he lost it physically.
The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ is an important reference point here. As per Foreman, He went in there thinking it would be the easiest win of his life. As Foreman said himself, once the 3rd round was over and the bell rang, Ali looked at him with determination in his eyes. Ali had taken all Foreman could throw and survived. Foreman said, “after that, it was a completely different fight”. Foreman was not himself after that. He was in the ring, throwing punches, but did not know what he was doing.
I think the same has happened with Joshua. The pressure of his ‘US debut’, of looking good and conquering America, with Wilder’s recent performance against Breazeale at the back of his mind. He went in there to finish Ruiz off in style and make a similar statement. When that did not happen and instead he got a knockdown, the battle was already lost mentally.
That is what caused the utter confusion on his face and saw all his skills evaporate. He was fighting a losing battle that point onwards. Getting knocked down by Vladimir is acceptable but getting knocked down by Ruiz is not. Against Vlad, the mental strength backed the body to get up, be on strong legs, fight back and win the fight. Against Ruiz, the fight was lost mentally. The legs did not get the support they needed from the brain. All skills went out of the window once the brain was in utter disbelief.
Joshua will put up a better show against Wilder and Fury than he did against Ruiz. The battle to regain the titles from Ruiz will depend on Joshua’s willpower. If he comes in thinking “what if I lose the rematch?” mentality, consider that lost as well.
Is it about skills? Does he need to change his trainer? I don’t think so. Joshua’s got decent defensive and offensive skills. He’s not the best in the business – at the level of Tyson Fury – but neither was his opponent or potential future opponents. Yes, he lacks in head movement. However, he has shown decent body movement, combinations, jabs and positioning in his previous fights.
It takes no genius to figure out how to control a shorter fight with less reach. Given his jabs, he should have been able to control the distance and not shy away from taking advantage of a charging shorter opponent. If Ruiz studied Mike Tyson, Joshua must have studied Buster Douglas. A fast-moving Joshua could take advantage of a Ruiz charging in, off-balance, and more open. And the effect of a punch when you are charging in is that much greater.
There is certainly room for improvement. Not getting hit is the best boxing skill to have. Given Joshua’s size, reach, and athletic body, it should not have been too difficult. He definitely needs to work on that. He also needs to be much more agile in the ring. Part of dodging the opponent’s offenses includes not being too stationary.
Was Ruiz too good for him? Andy Ruiz is better skilled than his body makes one believe. Looking at him, you would think he is a cab driver that hit the gym a few times before showing up in the ring for a small payday. He is certainly better than that.
Ruiz also has a good chin. The guy can take a few shots and, most importantly, recover from shots. He has a good will to fight. Couple that with good hand speed means he is willing to take some shots to throw a few of his own. However, make no mistake…Ruiz is no Mike Tyson or David Tua or Joe Frazier. He doesn’t have that great a chin neither is he the same kind of a relentless warrior.
I am yet to see a totally battered Ruiz, eyes nearly shut and a swollen face, still willing to fight. Also, while he may have good hand speed, there is no evidence he is a devastating puncher either. Fact is, he hasn’t really fought a top contender before and won the fight. While his fight against Parker can be argued, he definitely did not outclass Parker in any field nor did his punches take a heavy toll on Parker.
Does Anthony Joshua have a glass chin? Is he as powerful as he looks? That is certainly questionable and those with doubts won’t be entirely wrong. I wouldn’t say Andy Ruiz had that many clean shots to cause a concussion or make him look so confused. Again, top heavyweights from the past – Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, Tua, Ruddock, Foreman, Frazier, Shavers, etc. have had great chins. They could take clean shots from power hitters and yet survive or at least recover quickly.
Joshua hasn’t been badly hit before. He was shaken by Povetkin, Takam, Whyte, and the famous Klitschko. Those times, he was able to bounce back and control the rest of the fight. On June 1, however, he seemed to be more affected by Ruiz and did not look in total control of the fight afterwards.
What went wrong? Simply put, Joshua was not able to take the pressure on him on June 1 and lost the battle mentally. He lost the battle mentally far before he lost it physically.
The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ is an important reference point here. As per Foreman, He went in there thinking it would be the easiest win of his life. As Foreman said himself, once the 3rd round was over and the bell rang, Ali looked at him with determination in his eyes. Ali had taken all Foreman could throw and survived. Foreman said, “after that, it was a completely different fight”. Foreman was not himself after that. He was in the ring, throwing punches, but did not know what he was doing.
I think the same has happened with Joshua. The pressure of his ‘US debut’, of looking good and conquering America, with Wilder’s recent performance against Breazeale at the back of his mind. He went in there to finish Ruiz off in style and make a similar statement. When that did not happen and instead he got a knockdown, the battle was already lost mentally.
That is what caused the utter confusion on his face and saw all his skills evaporate. He was fighting a losing battle that point onwards. Getting knocked down by Vladimir is acceptable but getting knocked down by Ruiz is not. Against Vlad, the mental strength backed the body to get up, be on strong legs, fight back and win the fight. Against Ruiz, the fight was lost mentally. The legs did not get the support they needed from the brain. All skills went out of the window once the brain was in utter disbelief.
Joshua will put up a better show against Wilder and Fury than he did against Ruiz. The battle to regain the titles from Ruiz will depend on Joshua’s willpower. If he comes in thinking “what if I lose the rematch?” mentality, consider that lost as well.
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