By: Sean Crose
Tyson Fury, a man who has never been known for having a loss for words, has been weighing in on the rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua, which is scheduled to go down December 7th in Saudi Arabia. According to Business Insider, Fury feels Ruiz might be walking into the ring with an edge due to the fact that he’s based in California. “If anything,” Fury is quoted as saying about the match’s unique location, “Andy Ruiz might be more used to the heat because he’s Mexican and lives in California. It’s always hot there whereas Joshua lives in London and it’s not always hot there.”
Ruiz stunned the world last June in New York City when he stopped Joshua at Madison Square Garden. The bout was essentially seen as being nothing more than a tune up for the then undefeated Joshua. Ruiz, who was chosen to fill in for Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller after Miller had tested positive for a banned substance and dropped out of the fight, faced Joshua having had only a few weeks to train. Ruiz’ underrated skill set and determination allowed the Californian to shock the world, however, and to leave the Garden that night with Joshua’s numerous title belts in his possession.
The rematch between Ruiz and Joshua is of keen interest to Fury, of course, as the heavyweight division is stocked with fighters who are now positioning themselves to be king of the divisional hill. Fury, who many feel is still lineal champ, since he bested Waldimir Klitschko in 2015, fought WBC titlist Deontay Wilder to a highly memorable draw last December. He and Wilder are said to be rematching in February. It’s a situation where each of the four men involved – Joshua, Ruiz, Wilder, and Fury – hope to stand alone as the unquestioned heavyweight champion of the world when the dust finally settles.
Fury appears to at least suspect that Joshua will once again be bested by Ruiz. “He’s already been knocked out,” Fury said of Joshua to Business Insider, “so that favors Ruiz. I think fighting fire with fire with someone who is quicker than you and puts better shots together is a disaster.” Fury, who is famous for trying to get inside other fighter’s heads, may simply be engaging in psychological warfare. On the other hand, he may be quite serious in saying he feels Ruiz has the edge heading into December 7th.
“I don’t really see the fight going any differently,” he said, “unless AJ comes out and boxes on his toes, which we know he can’t do.” Although he’s known for a great deal of trash talk, Fury has made it clear that Joshua shouldn’t be entirely written off by fight fans. “Why should he be criticized or why should anybody go off him a bit more because he just lost a fight?” Fury asked Business Insider. “Everybody will lose a fight. Muhammad Ali lost fights, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, everybody.”