Anthony Joshua cruised to a victory over Andy Ruiz last weekend, as I’m sure you may have heard. Joshua might have gotten hit a couple times, but he was never in any real trouble during the fight.
After the fight, Andy Ruiz came up with so many excuses instead of taking responsibility for his lack of improvement.
“I don’t want to say that three months of party didn’t affect me, as to tell you the truth it kind of did.”
“We started training too late.”
“For this fight I was overweight. I didn’t move how I wanted to.”
Andy Ruiz came into the rematch with Anthony Joshua hoping he would find that lightning in a bottle again and that Anthony Joshua wouldn’t make any adjustments for the rematch. That didn’t happen.
That arrogance cost him three world titles. Not adjusting, knowing Joshua was going to adjust was an example of not a champion, but more of a guy who who won the lottery. While it’s okay to celebrate your accomplishment, especially one as huge as Ruiz achieved, there’s a point you have to get back to work. Ruiz never did that.
According to this study on CNBC, winners of the lottery are more likely to go broke instead of staying in the top one percent of earners. Andy Ruiz quite literally hit the jackpot when he knocked out Anthony Joshua.
While Ruiz’s life may be changed for forever, it may not go the way some people think. As you can read in the study from CNBC, Ruiz faces a real possibility to go broke if he doesn’t manage his money properly.
Enough about the life lessons to Andy Ruiz. His partying and refusal to get in the gym to start training earlier was the sign of a one hit wonder and not a long lasting world champion. He took his skills for granted.
Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua Comparisons
Joshua told Sky Sports Boxing, “Some fights I’ve been in could’ve gone either way due to lifestyle and stuff. Some people are just built for this and some people aren’t. The main thing is the belts are back with their rightful owner,” and he is right. Joshua showed that the mentality of being a long lasting champion is as important as being skillful in your craft.
In opposition, Anthony Joshua came in prepared to fight and the loss to Andy Ruiz may have been the best thing for his career. He prepared properly and upon winning the belts back, Joshua celebrated but it wasn’t as big of a deal to him. He was happy he won but it was just another day at the office for the two time champ.
People are also criticizing Anthony Joshua. Joshua came to box and did so. He didn’t brawl, where he lost the last fight, he fought a perfect fight. His preparations, while not pretty, and opposite of what he said before the fight, was underwhelming but exactly what Joshua needed to do. He went in, got the belts back, and he’s already back to work.
In May Joshua is already making a homecoming and according to Eddie Hearn, hell fight at Tottenham’s new stadium. While Oleksandr Usyk’s name has been thrown around as a mandatory, the likely name to be pulled is IBF mandatory, Kubrat Pulev. Don’t expect Joshua to go around partying this time.
While it may be his homecoming for bringing the belts back to the UK, Joshua will hold himself to a different standard. I understand Ruiz was the first Mexican heavyweight champion. But when Canelo beat Sergey Kovalev to get his third belt at once, it was just part of the plan.
I’m praying for Andy Ruiz, hoping that he doesn’t let a one hit wonder define him as a person. He’s a likable guy, I hope he stays that way.
Andy Ruiz proved he does not have the heart of a champion.
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