Kyle’s Pick
Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz
Odds
Joshua -220
Ruiz + 180
O/U 7.5
One of the more competitive big fights you will get in boxing this year. Many people who know boxing are split on who will win. And most of that is because of the way Ruiz won the first fight. He did not just land one shot and knock Joshua out like Rahman did with Lewis and Mccall also did with Lewis. In the rematches of those fights Lewis destroyed both of them because he was just the better fighter. Im not sure that Joshua, the favorite in the first fight and also the rematch is the better fighter here. There is no doubt that Ruiz throws better combinations and has more skills. Joshua makes up for that though with his size, his jab and his power. And he showed a huge heart in his big win against Klitschko but in some peoples eyes he did not show the same heart against Ruiz. That may be a little unfair but the bottom line is Ruiz basically beat the fight out of him. When the referee stopped it Joshua had had enough. And it was over the course of 7 rounds, not just one punch. And that is the main reason I will take Ruiz in the rematch even though my gut keeps telling me that Joshua is supposed to win the fight.
Prediction
Ruiz TKO 6
Undercard
Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter
Povetkin is a former heavyweight champion, Olympian and a knockout loser to Anthony Joshua several fights ago. One of the better heavyweights of past ten years. Nearing the end of his career but still able to fight.
Hunter is a former Cruiserweight title challenger who has won several fights at heavyweight after moving up. He was also an Olympian and the son of former heavyweight contender Mike “Bounty” Hunter from the early 90’s…
Prediction
Hunter by Close Decision
Joshua vs Ruiz-
The Cinderella story of 2019 gets a quick sequel and I have a feeling the beat will remain the same. Now I have been very back and forth on how I was going to pick this fight. Will Ruiz stay hungry and come in as motivated as before? Will Joshua take it upon himself to refocus and commit himself entirely to winning this fight like his life and career depend on it? (This May be the case for him as far as his career goes by the way) I am not one to write a fighter off after a loss especially one to a quality opponent. That being said it wasn’t the fact that Joshua lost that gave me cause for concern it was HOW he lost. Joshua looked broken, he looked tired, and he looked completely shot mentally. His body language said it all when the ref stopped it, he didn’t want to fight he had a choice to try and continue try to find a way to win and in that moment he choose to quit. That is a hard loss to recover from and an immediate rematch might end up being the same story as the first fight for AJ.
Look to earlier this year when Alberto Machado was upset and KOed by Robert Cancio. This fluke KO proved to be no mistake as the immediate rematch was an even more dominate win from Cancio and in the rematch Machado looked mentally broken and hopeless. I think we are probably going to see the same thing play out in the Joshua vs Ruiz rematch. I expect the first 2-3 rounds to be close and then for Ruiz to open up and start putting combinations together which will quickly lead to Joshua breaking down again.
Doubt is a hard thing to get over and I think Joshua will not be able to conquer in this fight. I do believe he wants to but he has looked chinny in the past and he didn’t take it well to the head or body in their first meeting and I see no reason why that would be different. My pick- Ruiz by stoppage in 6
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