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Anthony Joshua – a two-time world champion
In case you missed it, there was a little old scrap taking place in the Saudi Arabia desert this weekend as Anthony Joshua faced Andy Ruiz Jr for the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts.
There were question marks hanging over ‘AJ’ after he suffered a first professional defeat – and lost his titles – to the Mexican in June; but was that just a bad night at the office for the Briton? Or had the Joshua hype train come to a crashing end?
Well, the United Kingdom has a world heavyweight champion again as Joshua out-moved, out-jabbed and out-boxed his way to a unanimous points win.
Let’s take a look at how the night unfolded and how social media reacted…
(Don’t) let it rain
Hours before the opening bell, the weather in Diriyah nearly put a dampener on proceedings.
Despite the heavy rainfall and strong winds, BBC sports editor Dan Roan assured us that the fight would go ahead (although the words “as it stands” didn’t fill us with too much confidence)…
But pundit Steve Bunce, who was part of the BBC Radio 5 live commentary team, was well prepared…
Not all that rowdy in Saudi
The show did go on and after an undercard full of heavyweight clashes, including Londoner Dillian Whyte’s points win over Poland’s Mariusz Wach, it was time for the main event.
Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ has become an anthem for getting a boxing crowd pumped up, but it’s fair to say that it didn’t have quite the same reaction in the Middle East…
The perfect game plan
As for the fight itself, we didn’t see any knockdowns and rarely was either fighter in any kind of trouble – but it was a disciplined performance from Joshua and one that was appreciated by this former opponent of his…
By others in the fight game…
And by fans of the sport…
Did a heavy Ruiz take it too lightly?
Ruiz weighed in at 20st 3lb for this rematch, 15lb heavier than the first bout. Despite showing some glimpses of that hand speed and relentless punching, he did not look the same and admitted that he’d been partying too hard since becoming world champion.
These former champions say there are no excuses for the lack of preparation…
Credit to Rob McCracken
After the loss to Ruiz Jr in the summer, a lot of criticism was aimed at Joshua’s trainer, Rob McCracken. And although AJ made some additions and changes to his training camp, he insisted he would stay loyal to the man who has been in his corner for all 24 professional fights.
There were many past and present fighters who voiced their backing for McCracken after Saturday’s win…
What next for Joshua?
With it now being one apiece between Joshua and Ruiz Jr, the Mexican suggested a third fight be next. AJ seemed to welcome the idea when asked in his post-fight interview, but not everyone is keen…
Fellow Briton Tyson Fury looks set to face WBC champion Deontay Wilder in February; a match-up between Joshua and the winner of that bout for all the belts in the division, could be the most lucrative heavyweight fight in history.
Scotland’s unified light welterweight world champion Josh Taylor doesn’t think it’s a wise idea for AJ…
But Joshua may next have to defend his belt against mandatory challenger and former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk, after the WBO president ordered that the two must fight within 180 days.
AJ is up for the challenge…
The rematch with Dillian Whyte is also being mooted or a potential IBF mandatory fight against challenger Kubrat Pulev.
Time will tell who Joshua faces next. But for now though, the champion, his team and promoter Eddie Hearn will focus on celebrating this victory and bringing the belts back to London.
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