![]() Steve Gray gave Ruiz Jr only one round as he scored the bout 119-109 in favour of Joshua, while Glenn Feldman and Benoit Roussel were slightly more generous to the Mexican-American, each giving him two rounds as they both scored 118-110 in favour of AJ. ![]() The result was Joshua regaining his belts via a wide-margin unanimous decision. Joshua’s gameplan worked to perfection and nullified any opportunity for the out-of-condition Ruiz Jr to get in range often enough to unleash those deceptively fast hands. Joshua vs Ruiz Jr 2 scorecardsĬhampionship boxing often brings major scoring controversies in major fights, but ‘Clash On The Dunes’ offered nothing of the sort. When the end came there was little doubt (barring a scorecard controversy of almighty proportions) that AJ would regain the belts he had lost just six short months earlier. But most of his shots either missed completely or were comfortably blocked by the cruising Joshua. Ruiz Jr clearly knew by the final third of the bout that he likely needed a knockout victory to retain his titles, and he came out with more aggressive intent in a bid to do so. The rest of the night though – for the most part – was a Joshua masterclass as he showed remarkable discipline and focus to stick to his plan and box smartly from the outside against an opponent who struggled to find a way to get past that first line of defence, the Joshua jab.ĪJ did have a mini-scare in the eighth round as for about the only time in the bout Ruiz Jr landed a couple of significant rights and followed up with flurries to try and disturb the challenger’s rhythm. AJ himself though had suffered a cut over his left eye by the end of the second. The British star used his reach advantage to land the more punishing shots in the early stages, bringing blood from around Ruiz Jr’s left eye in the opening session. Joshua’s professional career before the rematch with Ruiz Jr had been very much one of offensive dominance, systematically breaking down opponents with an aggressive style and heavy punches.īut after that stunning loss to the Mexican-American at Madison Square Garden, AJ adapted his style significantly for the rematch and decided to use some of his other physical advantages to box from the outside and limit the risk posed by Ruiz Jr’s fast hands and damaging flurries. Joshua and Ruiz Jr met in their rematch in Saudi Arabia in December 2019. ![]() Joshua went into the fight an odds-on favourite at 2/5 with Ruiz Jr a 2/1 shot to repeat his shock June victory. There was controversy beforehand regarding the decision to take the fight to Saudi Arabia, with the territory paying a reported $40million (£30million) site fee. Luis Pabon of Puerto Rico was the referee for the fight, while the judges were Steve Gray, Glenn Feldman and Benoit Roussel. Meanwhile Ruiz Jr – trained for the last time by Manny Robles – will surely regret spending the months between New York and Riyadh by enjoying the fruits of his shock victory rather than getting into proper condition for the rematch. He was magnanimous in defeat and within days exercised his contractual right to a rematch.ĪJ – promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and again with Robert McCracken heading up his corner – would surprise many with his gameplan as he did indeed accomplish his ultimate mission by registering a revenge victory to improve his professional record to 23-1. Some fighters might have taken a breather and paused for thought before trying to win back the belts, but not Joshua. Ruiz Jr – distinctly chubby and as big as a 30-1 underdog – recovered from a third-round knockdown to unleash bombs of his own en route to a seventh-round TKO victory. Just six months earlier the man from Watford – then 22-0 and reigning IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion – had been stunned by late stand-in Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden, New York in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. ‘Clash On The Dunes’, as the promotion was named, signalled the first time the British superstar had entered a professional ring as a former world heavyweight champion. When Anthony Joshua met Andy Ruiz Jr for the second time – in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Decem– AJ was entering new territory for the first time.
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