ANTHONY JOSHUA took a cheeky dig at Andy Ruiz Jr for his party-boy lifestyle in the run up to their fight during an interview on Good Morning Britain. The Watford star, 30, got his revenge on Ruiz by putting in an ultra-professional shift during the rematch in Saudi Arabia. Joshua trained hard, shed some muscle […]
ANTHONY JOSHUA took a cheeky dig at Andy Ruiz Jr for his party-boy lifestyle in the run up to their fight during an interview on Good Morning Britain.
The Watford star, 30, got his revenge on Ruiz by putting in an ultra-professional shift during the rematch in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua trained hard, shed some muscle in a bid to become quicker and more agile and didn’t allow emotions to get the better of him in the ring.
AJ was ultimately able to dance and jab his way to a superb victory in the Clash on the Dunes against Ruiz – who put on over a stone between June and December.
Ruiz himself admitted he let fame and partying affect him – with AJ now saying that attitude does not befit a champion.
Joshua said: “I would love to have trained the way Andy trained but in reality that’s not the way of a champion.
“Andy can say all of these things but he knew he had a fight and he knew the best way to prepare.
“Learning life lessons come in different forms, his was in the form of a loss. He knew his mistakes.”
Following his loss, Ruiz admitted he allowed his newfound fame to envelop his life.
After shooting from little-known boxer to world heavyweight champion – and beating AJ at Madison Square Garden no less – Ruiz amassed a £785,000 car collection, while enjoying A-list parties.
Ruiz confessed: “I don’t want to say three months of partying didn’t affect me because it kind of did.
“I just want to learn from this mistake. I am glad I learnt it when I am young.”
Ruiz’s dad, Andres, has since revealed he told his son he would struggle against Joshua after putting one 15lbs.
He said: “Andy thought he was going to do good at the weight in the fight. I told him a month ago that ‘you’re not going to do good at the weight.
“It’s going to be too hard, because you’re going to be tired, and you’re not going to have the movement.
“He came in overweight, that was the problem. It was too much weight for his body. He weighed 283. Plus after he eats, he was almost 290-something.
“There was no way he was going to do something good, so now he’s learned his lesson and now he’s going to come back.
“All the fights that he’s done in his career, he was 255, 257, 246. The last time he fought, he was at 268, and he felt comfortable.
“I told him, ‘You have to lose weight,’ but at that time, we didn’t have enough time to lose weight. That’s why he fought at that weight.”
Ruiz Snr went on to say Andy “wouldn’t listen because of the fame”, adding: “He was with a Rolls Royce, he was with his friends, he was throwing parties, and not listening to the camp. He was running by himself.
“We were in a house in Manhattan Beach, that we he could come with us, and stay in the house.
“He didn’t want to stay with us. He wanted to stay with his friend, and try to run by himself. It was the worst camp that he could be doing.
“Andy, he didn’t do the right things, that’s what happened.”
Meanwhile, former world champion Andre Ward slammed Ruiz for “blowing his opportunity”.
Taking to social media, Ward wrote: “Andy Ruiz blew a big opportunity in the Middle East. He said he would die in the ring to keep his belts.
“It didn’t take all of that, it just took the discipline and courage to push the plate back and deny himself, to put himself in the best position to win. He couldn’t do it.
“The curse of the 15lb weight gain continues. James Buster Douglas came into his first defence of his title against Evander Holyfield, after shockingly beating Mike Tyson.
“It didn’t work for Douglas that night, and it didn’t work for Ruiz tonight.”
