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

[Mammoth]

What we saw in his demeanor before the fight was nerves. Everybody can't handle the pressure of being the franchise player. AJ never wanted to fight here. This was something he was forced to do by DAZN & Hearn.

As far as the fight this was the fastest guy he's ever fought. AJ has always had bad head movement. He was ok until the 3rd Rd. I didn't see any difference in the way he'd previously fought. Matter of fact he was doing better in this fight than he was in the Povetkin fight before he stopped him. He dropped Ruiz and got aggressive and got caught. He was never the same after that.

It is pretty clear cut. Everybody just needs to deal with it.

[Enzo Mc is SHIT]

promoters carry event cancellation insurance on large shows like this. Hearn doesnt strike me as a "small-ball" thinker. I doubt he would risk his franchise player if he wasnt 100%.........

But that insurance would only cover the immediate impact of the event cancellation. It wouldn't cover the long-term brand damage to DAZN, Matchroom and Joshua himself. With DAZN gambling hundreds of millions and needing to see a return at some point it's not much of a stretch to believe that that Eddie Hearn may have found himself under immense pressure to make sure a sick Joshua went through with his big US debut. After all, it was only a fat, short, late replacement whose best win was a decision over a shot Kevin Johnson.

I'm not saying that's what happened. Just saying it's not at all unlikely. Realistically I think it was probably a perfect storm of an overrated Joshua going into a fight in less than perfect health, against an opponent he massively underestimated, in unfamiliar surroundings when he's been able to dictate everything up to this point, and Andy Ruiz producing the performance of his life.

Also see the 1998 World Cup final and Nike's alleged involvement in making sure Ronaldo played.

[NaijaD]

promoters carry event cancellation insurance on large shows like this. Hearn doesnt strike me as a "small-ball" thinker. I doubt he would risk his franchise player if he wasnt 100%.........

Well you’re way more knowledgeable than me on the subject of promoters and having some sort of cover in case the event had to forceably cancelled makes sense.

[Combat Talk Radio]

Joshua looked like the same fighter, with the same body language, as he did against Povetkin.

In case you need your memory refreshed:



Ruiz fought a little smarter than Povetkin, wasn't as tentative early on, and eventually clipped Joshua. That was the difference.

This is exact truth. Joshua got beat by a VERY calculated fighter that knew what to do, knew he'd be considered a setup due to his body "Trojan horse, like Eubank said", went in there and got it done. That was almost all Ruiz.

Everything else is an excuse not to give Ruiz the credit he deserves for a CLEAN, dominant win.

[Caxcan]

People are saying he seemed off beforehand yet he was bright eyed, articulate and smiling minutes afterward and seemed to have a clear memory of everything that transpired.

[MulaKO]

AJ is an idiot for sticking with that man. He hasn't improved at all. Mayweather once told him to go to the Mayweather gym to tighten that defence. That was a code asking him to change trainers if he wanted to last long. In this sport you won't last getting punched in the head by heavyweights.

Well can’t argue with you their
I don’t recall that but he wasn’t the first person to say he had to sharpen his defensive skills
It’s too bad you gotta hit rock bottom to realize it but hey ,what doesn’t kill him only makes him stronger
Or so they say

[uppercut510]

Maybe that is why he spent the whole week talking about his brand and Wilder rather than Ruiz, the opponent in front of him.

I would hope all Brits and all AJ fans will focus on how he behaved during the lead up to the fight. Frankly, it appeared that he saw a fat, short dude on short notice from Haymon and he figured he was just there for the payday so AJ was focused on everything other than Ruiz.

Maybe next time he will not underestimate his opponent.

yes indeed, and the brits were too busy bragging on his muscles and bragging on him selling out 90k stadiums, calling wilder DEYONCE, and much more "rubbish" they including AJ forgot the guy aj was fighting!

[OnePunch]

But that insurance would only cover the immediate impact of the event cancellation. It wouldn't cover the long-term brand damage to DAZN, Matchroom and Joshua himself. With DAZN gambling hundreds of millions and needing to see a return at some point it's not much of a stretch to believe that that Eddie Hearn may have found himself under immense pressure to make sure a sick Joshua went through with his big US debut. After all, it was only a fat, short, late replacement whose best win was a decision over a shot Kevin Johnson.

I'm not saying that's what happened. Just saying it's not at all unlikely. Realistically I think it was probably a perfect storm of an overrated Joshua going into a fight in less than perfect health, against an opponent he massively underestimated, in unfamiliar surroundings when he's been able to dictate everything up to this point, and Andy Ruiz producing the performance of his life.

Also see the 1998 World Cup final and Nike's alleged involvement in making sure Ronaldo played.

I think it was a perfect storm of a better-than-they-bargained-for Ruiz, a somewhat lackluster AJ, and a concussion in the 3rd round that he never recovered from.

[TonyGe]

Joshua went in too quickly and recklessly after he knocked Ruiz down. He wasn't the same after that. Which isn't saying much because he didn't look like a top heavyweight before that.

[BigZ44]

I thought he did some weird **** during the fight and some of the stuff he said in the lead up was a bit strange, but without more proof I don't think he was ****ed up or anything. Certainly he could have been put down in sparring, that would be nothing new and would not change anything. Personally, I don't think he wants it any more. His actions and mannerisms don't match his words and the look on his face after the fight screamed RELIEF to me, more than anything. Maybe this loss will bring some of the hunger back, but I think maybe he's become too much of a nice guy for this and has already accomplished so much, so quickly that it's lost its luster for him.

Hell, I remember talk when he was going for the belts how he wasn't going to be in the game long and all this and that. Now he's talking about how he still wants to fight for another 10 years, but none of it sounds convincing. I'm almost certain he'll retire if he loses the rematch and I'm still not convinced he will take the immediate rematch, despite what everyone is saying. Time will tell.