Joseph Parker, who narrowly beat Ruiz Jr back in 2016 before losing a points decision to Joshua last year in Cardiff, has revealed how British Heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua can beat Andy Ruiz in a rematch billed to take place in November.
Parker according to Sport Express believes, like many, that there was something visibly wrong with AJ before he entered the ring. He explained that AJ found it hard to maneuver his body away from the plethora of punches thrown by the Mexican.
Anthony Joshua’s loss to Ruiz Jr at the beginning of the month sent shockwaves through the heavyweight division as the Californian born fighter picked up the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles.
“Firstly, in the beginning, we didn't think that he looked right. I think a lot of people picked up on some of the stuff he was doing in the corner, getting his neck massaged and this and that. The good thing is he didn't make any excuses and he just accepted the loss.
“When we saw him trading, we thought it wasn't really the best game-plan to be trading with someone shorter and more compact. Obviously, we saw that when he did come in for the kill, Andy ducked down and caught him with a left hook.”
The New Zealander, who recently signed with Matchroom and Eddie Hearn, says it was his movement which stifled Ruiz Jr almost three years ago. He reckons Joshua needs to keep himself moving in order to come out on top in his eagerly-anticipated rematch with Ruiz Jr.
“A lot of people didn't really know of Andy and the fights he's had, but he's had some pretty good fights in his career. I think the movement that I presented in that fight caused him [Ruiz Jr] a lot of trouble, and caused him to miss a lot of shots. A lot of the shots, there wasn't really any big flush shots that landed.
“A lot of them were grazing shots and a lot of them were shots that I was able to maneuver and move back with them. Even though they were hitting me, it wasn't getting the same impact as it was on Joshua.”
Parker then differentiated his style from Joshua’s, stating that the Olympic gold medalist’s height hindered his ability to dodge the shots coming from Ruiz Jr’s direction.
“AJ's style, when we see him fighting, he moves back, but a lot of the fights, he likes to come forward. I guess this is sort of a first experience of fighting someone who just continuously puts pressure on,” he said
