By: Hans Themistode
There’s no other way to put it. That was just a truly disappointing showing by Andy Ruiz Jr. He shocked the world on June 1st, when he scored the stoppage win over Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. He once again shocked the world, but this time around not for the reasons he was hoping.
Ruiz was easily out boxed by Joshua when the two met in Saudi Arabia, this past weekend. It was the sort of performance that made many believe that the first fight was nothing more than a lucky win. Ruiz needs to quickly dismiss that notion. To do that, he needs a good win under his belt.
Luckily for him, he has plenty of options.
Luis Ortiz
Luis Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs) is fresh off a loss to WBC champion Deontay Wilder, but he is still hands down one of the best fighters in the world. He still believes he can win a world title, but he just needs to avoid facing Wilder. Andy Ruiz Jr’s performance against Joshua was abysmal to say the least.
The fact that he admitted to not training hard will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many. Even with his huge mistakes in preparation, he is still a very good fighter. He can win back his fans and the respect of the boxing world if he can find a way to win against Luis Ortiz.
Adam Kownacki
A shot at a title is exactly what Adam Kownacki is eyeing in 2020, but so is Ruiz. At this point, they need each other. Not only would they give the fans a fight of the year level contest, but the winner would immediately jump the long line of contenders for a shot at the title in 2020. Both Ruiz and Kownacki love to come forward and throw combinations. It’s a recipe for a great fight.
Anthony Joshua Part 3
What Ruiz did in his rematch against Anthony Joshua was shades of Buster Douglass. It just wasn’t the sort of performance that should lead to a third fight between them. Look, it isn’t easy to defend Ruiz and what he just did but the fact of the matter is that he did defeat Joshua in the first matchup.
At this point, it’s difficult to say that Ruiz is a better fighter than Joshua, but one more fight between them will absolutely shut the book on their rivalry. Ruiz vowed to train hard this time if he was given a third shot. Should we believe him? Probably not, but in order to put an end to their feud for good, these two need to step inside of the ring against one another one final time.