Fallout from Joshua-Ruiz is great for boxing
Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for Andy Ruiz Jr. was a night for the ages and boxing fans everywhere. The only person it was a not a good night for was Anthony Joshua who traveled across the pond to be a part of one of boxing’s biggest upsets as he lost his multiple titles to Ruiz in a seventh-round stoppage.
The initial fallout from this across the board plays out as expected from all sides of both the heavyweight division and boxing media. For instance, we here at Big Fight Weekend couldn’t help but noticed how Joshua looked like he was not up for this fight.
Ring announcer and commentator Ray Flores tweeted this photo comparing the infamous shot of Muhammad Ali over Sonny Liston.
— SP (@shampayne216) June 2, 2019
Some couldn’t wait to drop that lame and predictable Eric “Butterbean” Esch joke out there like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith about the shape and stature of Andy Ruiz.
Then, of course, you got WBC champion Deontay Wilder throwing salt on the wound of Joshua after the loss by tweeting:
“He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts. Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!! #TilThisDay”
He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts.
Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!#TilThisDay— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 2, 2019
Joshua losing puts the cherry on top of a Wilder sundae that for the entire fight week he was here consisting of upstaging his press conference by making rematch fight announcements with Luis Ortiz to a much-anticipated rematch during the weigh-in with Tyson Fury in an attempt to make Joshua’s stay in the States a non-existent one.
“It just wasn’t my night,” Joshua said after the fight. “It was Andy Ruiz’s night. But look, you know what? It’s good for the TV, it’s good for DAZN and the people watching. And now I’ve gotta go and do it again.”
His statements post fight echo what lineal champion Tyson Fury said in a tweet after the match.
“We have our back and Forth’s but @anthonyfjoshua changed his stars through life. heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again”
We have our back and Forth’s but @anthonyfjoshua changed his stars through life. heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again ??
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) June 2, 2019
At the end of the night and from all sides, this fight has gotten everyone talking, and it’s matches like these that makes boxing so great.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
