By: Hans Themistode
It’s just about time for the rematch that many never saw coming. Andy Ruiz Jr may have walked out of Madison Square Garden, in New York City, on June 1st with the Heavyweight titles around his waist, but you have to believe in order for him to do it the second time around, it will take a lot of grit on his part.
Anthony Joshua seems more motivated than ever, but so does the current champion. Yet, for some reason, Ruiz is heavily doubted yet again. It isn’t hyperbole to call his first win one of the biggest upsets of all-time. It’s safe to say that if he pulls it off again, that it won’t be that much of a shock. What Ruiz wants at this point, is validation. One more win over Joshua will give him just that.
Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua Final Press Conference ahead of their IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO heavyweight title fight Saudi Arabia this Weekend.
4th December 2019.
Picture By Mark Robinson.
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Nobody is expecting a cake walk but if Ruiz is who he says he is, then he can do it again.
Let’s take a look at his keys to victory.
Pressure
Andy Ruiz Jr is a natural pressure fighter. He’s great in everything else as well, but he truly excels in the pressure department. In the first contest, Joshua really didn’t enjoy the constant duress he was under at all times.
With Joshua losing a ton of weight for the rematch, Ruiz believes he will try to out box him this time around. If that truly is the case, then Ruiz needs to ramp up his pressure on Joshua. The former champ has already proven that he can’t deal with it. If Ruiz can stay in his face all night, then he is most likely to walk out of there with another victory.
Combinations Up Top
Just about every fighter tries to land combinations, but they aren’t always successful. When Ruiz lets his hands go, he looks like a blur out there. Don’t let his big belly fool you, he’s much faster than you would think. In the first encounter whenever Ruiz got in striking distance, he didn’t waste his time with slow one twos. Instead, he pressed on the gas and hit Joshua with four or five shots at a time.
It’s clear that Ruiz has the edge in that department. Ruiz can’t get cute here. Get in close and let your hands go. Let’s see if Joshua will crumble underneath the pressure yet again.
Attack The Body
For as big and strong as Joshua may look, he sure does move around the ring a lot. There’s nothing wrong with it, but with the sort of hulking body that he has, you would think that he simply walks up to his opponents and pummels them into the ground. Nope, Joshua is much more of a boxer than you might think. With the former champion shedding a lot of those huge muscles, what makes you believe that he will simply walk to the center of the ring and bang with Ruiz?
It isn’t likely. If Ruiz finds himself having difficulty catching up to his on the move opponent, then he needs to go down to the body. It won’t win him any style points but it will certainly wear Joshua down and lead him to another victory.