British superstar Anthony Joshua is eager to bounce back in his rematch with Andy Ruiz.
In June at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Ruiz handed Joshua the first defeat of his pro career. He dropped Joshua four times before the contest was stopped in the seventh round.
The rematch is taking place on December 7th, and for the moment the location has been set down for Saudi Arabia.
During his interview on AJ, The Untold Truth, an on-demand special on Sky Sports, Joshua explained how he lost to Ruiz.
“By a lucky punch. By a punch sent by the gods,” Joshua said.
“I don’t know what concussion is, but for sure, after the fight I didn’t know what round (the fight was stopped). So I’m just shocked it took Ruiz Jr another four rounds to get me out. Let me concuss Ruiz Jr – he won’t get back up.
“Ruiz Jr got hit by a flash knock-down – he was still raw, he wasn’t well-done, he wasn’t cooked yet. I should have left him a little bit longer. But the instinct in me was: ‘Boom!’ I ended up getting caught with a left hook on the top of the head. He ain’t that skilful. He’s a good fighter.”
Joshua feels confident that he will get revenge in the rematch.
In the first bout, he dropped Ruiz in the third round. But then Joshua got too eager to get the knockout, and left himself open to a big counter. Ruiz rocked him and then dropped him twice in the same round.
Joshua plans to drop him again – and this time he intends to be smart about the finish.
“Do what I did in round three, but with more silky skill. And that was easy to put him down. So I need to be smarter, next time. I wasn’t boxing properly. Skipping around the ring like a marathon runner. Dancing around the ring. It was never the game-plan to have my arms low, and be over my front foot,” Joshua said.
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