It was supposed to be a night of cruising. Anthony Joshua walked in a champion against a pudgy, no name opponent, Andy Ruiz.
What transpired that night put heavyweight boxing on its head. Joshua would get knocked down four times before suffering a humiliating loss in the 7th round. How did this happen? Who knows. This is far from being Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas. Tyson was thought of as being unbeatable at the time. Joshua was never seen in that light but he had an impressive win over Wladimir Klitschsko on his resume. Up next was supposed to be a super-bout with Deontay Wilder.
Instead, Joshua’s career is at a crossroads. Another loss and the chances of fighting Wilder and/or Tyson Fury become harder to make. With both of those fighters signed with other networks, surely, they’ll require Joshua to be the “B” side which makes a deal with DAZN unattainable.
While Joshua has been trying to put himself back together, he has slipped from being thought of as the best heavyweight in the world to being third or fourth at best. There’s no doubt that Wilder and Fury are one and two. The order depends on who you speak to. After that, things get fuzzy for Joshua.
It’s why winning Saturday’s fight in Saudi Arabia isn’t enough. He must punish Ruiz. Losing in the feeble way Joshua lost, means style points are a must. This fight cannot make it to the scorecards because even if Joshua wins by decision, it doesn’t remove the stain of the first loss. Just ask Lennox Lewis. Lewis lost his title is shocking fashion to Hasim Rahman. In the rematch, Lewis made sure the first fight would be forgotten as he completely destroyed Rahman.
Plus, lets be honest, no one has enjoyed being the unexpected heavyweight champion this much since Riddick Bowe. Ruiz has been a traveling show since grabbing the title, soaking every bit of what could be his 15 minutes of fame. All of this coming at the expense of Joshua and the future seven digit paydays he lost that night.
Joshua will have some supporters on Saturday. There’s no doubt Wilder and Fury are both keeping an eye on the fight. The winner of their rematch will be at the table with Joshua and his people. So, it’s in Joshua’s corner… try not to get knocked out this time.
