AJ/Ruiz
#1
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2019/05/boxing-andy-ruiz-officially-unveiled-as-anthony-joshua-s-next-opponent.html
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#2
Andy Ruiz rips Joseph Parker as he's confirmed to fight Anthony Joshua
Duncan Johnstone

New Zealand heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker consoles Andy Ruiz Jr after their Auckland fight in 2016.
Andy Ruiz Jr is still claiming he was robbed in his fight against Joseph Parker as the Mexican-American gets a second shot at a world heavyweight title after being confirmed as Anthony Joshua's replacement opponent.

Ruiz will look to become Mexico's first heavyweight champion after replacing Jarrell Miller as the opponent for unbeaten WBA, IBF and WBO titleholder Joshua.

Miller was withdrawn from the June 1 fight at Madison Square Garden after doping violations.

The 29-year-old Ruiz, who is based in California, lost a controversial majority points decision to Parker when they fought for the WBO belt in Auckland in December 2016.

That is his only loss in 33 professional fights and it sill grates.

"From the beginning he's had my belt … when I fought Joseph Parker it was for the WBO title, they robbed my fight going over there to his home town so technically AJ has my belt," Ruiz said, via a video released by promoters Matchroom.

Andy Ruiz Jr was adamant he had beaten Joseph Parker at the final bell of their 12-round WBO world title fight.
"I'm excited to claim what's mine, this is my chance and I'll do whatever I can to win and take that belt back to Mexico and the United States.

"I've got unfinished business with the WBO title because that was my first loss, I felt that they stole my fight. That was my chance to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world and they took it away, so this time I'm gonna let everything go and get what's mine.

"He's the best one out there, he has all the belts besides the WBC, but I'm here to take what's mine and I'm here to pull out the upset. I've got to be focused, stay calm … it's time to make history."

Ruiz believes he can upset the odds and achieve his dream of being considered alongside some of the great heavyweights of the past.

"I want to be like [Mike] Tyson, [Evander] Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, I want to be in that category and this is my chance and I just can't wait," he said. "I'm going to throw combinations like I've never done before. A lot of people underestimate me and I'm used to that my whole life, but I'm not going in there scared or nervous.

"[Joshua] fights like a big robot, but with my style and speed he's not fought anyone like me so it's going to be a whole different ball game. I don't think he's good going back so I'm going to bring the pressure to him.

"When I do pull out this win, everything is going to change. It's going to mean everything."

Ruiz's last fight was 10 days ago, when he forced the fifth-round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko.

Anthony Joshua will put all his belts on the line against Andy Ruiz Jnr in New York.
Joshua has a 22-0 record, with 21 knockouts and was taken the distance for the first time by Parker in their unification fight last year.

Joshua hasn't fought since beating Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in September, and is making his United States debut.

Joshua sees Ruiz as a real threat and a worthy replacement for Miller.

"Similar styles, big and strong, very good with his punch selection and it's still going to go ahead at MSG on June 1,'' Joshua said of Ruiz .

"This is the next best shot ... who else is there? If anyone could name anyone who was better, then I was all ears. But when we looked at the scope of who was available, this was the next best one.''

Meanwhile, Joshua also has called for more stringent regulations for boxers who fail doping tests, saying the "random six-month ban'' handed to Miller isn't enough of a deterrent.

"If I carry a weapon of destruction, I'm going to get a certain amount of time in jail, so you know (the consequences of what will happen),'' Joshua told Britain's Press Association from his training base in Sheffield, England. "It's like, 'Why did he only get six months?' It should be, 'Miller's definitely getting this.' That's my opinion on it.''

Stuff
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#3
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/112378910/dillian-whyte-accuses-unified-heavyweight-champion-anthony-joshua-of-legally-juicing
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#4
https://fightnews.com/andy-ruiz-displays-his-form/44667
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#5
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/combat-sports/112412360/andy-ruiz-lands-big-shot-against-anthony-joshua-as-joseph-parkers-career-stalls
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#6
Andy Ruiz Jr: Everybody’s underestimating me

By David Robinett

Hours before Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs faced off Saturday night in Las Vegas, Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn formally introduced Andy Ruiz Jr. (32-1, 21 KOs), as the replacement opponent for unified heavyweight title holder Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) on June 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Ruiz was selected after Joshua’s original opponent, Jarrell Miller, was withdrawn for failing multiple drug tests during training. Hearn, Ruiz, Ruiz’s father, and Ruiz’s trainer Manny Robles all met with the assembled media early Saturday afternoon at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.
“It’s been a real shitty ten or eleven days to be honest with you,” opened Hearn. “We worked very hard with Jarrell Miller to give him opportunities and he cheated us and cheated the sport of boxing by failing not one drug test but three drug tests, with three different substances inside his body. He [Miller] had the opportunity for himself to change his life, his family’s life, but he couldn’t bring himself to fight Anthony Joshua on a level playing field.”

Hearn also talked about the difficulties in finding an opponent willing to step up and challenge Joshua for the unified heavyweight title, though not mentioning his first choice, Luis Ortiz (who reportedly turned down an offer over $5 million to face Joshua), directly by name.

“One thing that is, quite frankly, annoying me at the moment are the fighters that talk about stepping up,” explained Hearn. “Saying, ‘yeah I’ll take on Joshua,’ or ‘I’ll do this, yeah,’ and then making unrealistic financial demands or deciding to put half of Walgreens in their body.”

Hearn then explained what drew him to Ruiz as a potential opponent for Joshua. “So, when we got the bad news, my first thought was, ‘Who? Who is it gonna be?’ And we looked around and the first thing that I wanted more than anything was to make sure that we had a real fight on June 1st because, I have to be honest with you, I’m a promoter, but I’m also a fan. And I didn’t want to bring Anthony Joshua to Madison Square Garden, to walk into an arena knowing we can’t lose, knowing he’s going to go two rounds, knowing we have an opponent that’s coming for the money, and not one that’s trying to fight for his family, for a legacy, for history.”
Although he didn’t get into the details of their conversation, Hearn said that he and Ruiz began communicating and quickly reached an agreement for the Mexican-American from Southern California to challenge for Joshua’s WBA/IBF/WBO title belts. Hearn also commented on Ruiz’s notoriously soft heavyweight body, an issue that has followed Ruiz throughout his career.

“The casual fans may question that Andy Ruiz is not carved out of stone,” admitted Hearn. “But the ones who know their boxing know that this is a big, credible fighter at the Garden on June 1st. Many say this man should already be world champion, he went to New Zealand and lost a very close fight to Joseph Parker for the WBO world championship. This is the only loss on his record.”

When Ruiz took the microphone, he echoed Hearn’s sentiment that there was more than meets the eye to him.

“Everybody’s underestimating me, just the way I look and all that,” acknowledged Ruiz. “But, tell you the truth, I have heart, I throw a lot of punches. I’m gonna show the world what I am and what I can do. I’m going to bring those belts back to Mexico, because they’ve never been to Mexico, so I’m going to make history, God willing.”
Ruiz’s trainer Manny Robles added that the timing of this opportunity should work to his fighter’s advantage, with Ruiz having fought just two weeks ago after a full training camp, knocking out fringe contender Alexander Dimitrenko.

“Andy’s ready, it could not have come at a better time,” noted Robles. “People think we’re taking the fight on short notice, but really we’re not, we just got back from a ten week camp heading into our last fight. We took a few days off but we’re right back into the gym.”

Robles also weighed in on, well, Ruiz’s weight. “A lot of people will doubt Andy because of his physical appearance but this guy, don’t worry about what you see on the outside, because what this kid has on the inside, this guy has got big cojones. He [Joshua] has never fought a Mexican fighter and this kid is definitely a pressure fighter. Being a shorter fighter, of course we’re going to look to get on the inside and break down that body. Personally, I don’t think Joshua has ever been hit [consistently] to the body, but this kid goes to the body, he’s a Mexican fighter. Mexican fighters are known for that, to go to the body, to punch the body, so that’s what we’ll do.

For his part, Ruiz was not lacking in confidence, noting that he was hungry to atone for his first unsuccessful title challenge three years ago in New Zealand.

“This is my second chance to make history, to make my dreams come true,” said Ruiz. “It couldn’t have happened at a better time than now, I’m sharp, I’m prepared, we don’t have to start a new training camp, it just keeps going. June 1st is going to be a really exciting fight, two big guys hitting each other in the face, getting hurt. I’m the type of fighter who can do it all, I can box, I can move around, I can slip punches, bob and weave, throw punches, counterpunches, and I’m here to shock the world.”

Hearn concluded by reiterating Ruiz’s opportunity to win a heavyweight title on behalf of both his home country and his ethnic heritage.

“Although there’ll be a huge amount of British fans among that 20,000 [at Madison Square Garden], there’s now going to be a lot of American fans, and there’s now going to be a lot of Mexicans,” predicted Hearn. “He [Ruiz] has a chance to become Mexico’s first ever world heavyweight champion, and that is a legacy that may never be repeated, that is an opportunity that may never happen again. He will become a national hero, an icon, in Mexico, if he can win this fight, and Joshua knows this is a real fight, Joshua knows this is a real test.”

Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz, Jr., will take place on June 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, streaming live on DAZN and on Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom.
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#7
Personally I'm sick of hearing Ruiz say he beat JP... he didn't- it was a close fight he lost -could have been a draw some watchers may have given him decision but he lost.
I would much rather hear him in the build up to his biggest fight talk of the lessons he learned from the JP fight- to throw more- be more assertive , more active- don't leave it to the judges especially v the fav fighter.
Come on Andy focus dude I think your style could could trouble AJ especially early - basically I reckon if the fight goes beyond 6-7 rounds AJ pounds a submission so Ruiz must take him out before then.
Should be fun while it lasts
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#8
This is an excellent chance for Ruiz to come in shape and pull the upset. I like his chances. In saying that, contrary to what the article said, Parker did quite well in pulling in 12 million dollars from the AJ fight. Ruiz would be lucky to get a coupla million from AJ.
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#9
Joshua: Ruiz quicker, smarter than Big Baby

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBA, WBO, IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua rates WBA #11, IBF #15 heavyweight Andy Ruiz to be a lot quicker and more accurate than Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller who he has replaced for the June 1st showdown at Madison Square Garden, New York.

“Obviously with Miller he was 300lbs, his punch output was very high as well – so what I tried to do was adapt my training in terms of size and punch output and what I was going to do to someone that comes forward all the time,” Joshua told Sky Sports News.

“Ruiz doesn’t weigh as much, he is a lot quicker than Miller and I think he uses punch variety and punch selection a lot better than Miller does. His punch output is a lot lower but he is more accurate with his punches. I have to be better with my defense, a lot tighter and be smarter against someone like Ruiz. Even though he is not as big and doesn’t work as hard to a certain degree, he is a lot smarter.”
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#10
https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/what-if-andy-ruiz-beats-anthony-joshua/117470
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