By Keith Idec

Anthony Joshua refrained from declaring Andy Ruiz Jr. a better opponent than Jarrell Miller.

The unbeaten IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion did admit that he hasn’t been matched against a typical replacement. The 29-year-old Ruiz, though chubby and not as physically imposing as the 6-feet-4, 315-pound Miller, is a skillful fighter whom Joshua expects to test him more than the lopsided odds suggest Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

DAZN’s Ak & Barak discussed Ruiz with Joshua following an open workout Tuesday in Manhattan.

“I couldn’t say [who’s better] because I’ve never boxed Miller. … But Miller was a steady contest because of his punch rate and his physical size,” Joshua said. “You can’t deny that in the ring. But I think that Ruiz is a more sound, well-balanced, feet underneath him and little head movement. You know, throw the right hand, he’ll just duck under it, come under it and then hook you twice. So, he’s got that kind of confidence in his ability that he can kind of counterpunch and he’s not afraid to [throw punches] as shots are coming into his face, slip it and then counter-punch. He’s not a scared fighter at all.”

The 6-feet-2 Ruiz, who weighed in at 262 pounds for his most recent fight, feels as though he is in better condition than usual.

The Imperial, California, native accepted promoter Eddie Hearn’s offer to replace the besmirched Miller less than two weeks after he stopped Russia’s Alexander Dimitrenko following five one-sided rounds in a fight FOX aired last month. That quick turnaround barely afforded Ruiz time away from the gym once he defeated Dimitrenko on April 20 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Prior to facing Dimitrenko (41-5, 26 KOs), Ruiz hadn’t boxed in the nine months since he out-pointed fellow American Kevin Johnson (34-13-1, 18 KOs) in a 10-rounder July 7 in Fresno, California. The 29-year-old Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) most recently stopped Russia’s Alexander Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs) in the seventh round of their September 22 bout at Wembley Stadium in London.

DAZN will stream Joshua-Ruiz as the main event of a seven-fight card Saturday.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.