Andy Ruiz Jr has named two main reasons why he suffered a frustrating loss to Anthony Joshua in their much-awaited rematch last Saturday.
Ruiz Jr, who shocked the world last June with a stunning knockout of Joshua last June, made his first title-defence at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia for their rematch dubbed as the Clash on the Dunes.
Falling short of completing another upset, the Mexican-American found no answer to Joshua’s athleticism and boxing skills as he was outboxed through twelve rounds.
When the smoke cleared, ‘The Destroyer’ was dominated in the judges scorecards, settling for a unanimous decision loss to his British opponent, 118-, 118-110, 119-109.
“He won and outboxed me but best believe if we do a third fight I’m going to get in the best shape of my life,” he said after the loss.
“I thought I was going to feel stronger and better but next fight I admit I’m going to be more prepared. I was chasing him instead of cutting the rings.”
“I felt like I couldn’t throw my combinations.”
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‘My Mistake’
In the post-fight press conference, Ruiz Jr spent the whole 15 minutes apologizing to his team as he came to this titanic clash complacent and less prepared.
The Mexican-American said his poor lifestyle and being overweight were to blame for his disappointing loss to Joshua.
“There was always tomorrow, tomorrow. I should have taken this fight more seriously,” Ruiz told the media, per Boxing Scene.
“Three months of partying and celebrating affected me.”
“Being bigger and heavier, I thought was going to benefit me. It didn’t,” he said. “Being overweight, I thought I was going to be stronger.
“I was slimmer [at the start, I put on the weight and it was my mistake. I felt to confident. I should have trained harder and listened to my team and coaches.”
“We did the best we can I can’t wait for the next fight. He won one, I won one and this is a trilogy.”
“I’m not scared of any of my opponents. If I had let my hands go as I did on June 1 I think I would have won. He was boxing his life out.”
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Lesson Learned
Ruiz Jr said he has learned from his mistakes and is now looking forward to the next chapter of his career.
And if there will be a trilogy bout with Joshua, ‘The Destroyer’ guarantees the fight ‘is going t be a lot different.’
“There is no excuse I learn from my mistakes. I know I will be ready for the next one. The partying and all the stuff got the best of me.”
“I kind of trained on my own. I’m sorry to Manny, I am sorry to my Dad, I should have listened.”
“The only thing he did well as was move around as good as he could, but when I let my hands go I did land. He did a good performance, he boxed me well. I was just following him, I wasn’t doing what I do best.
“I want to rest, I want to talk to my team, I want to think about my career. I will fight anybody in the game. I’m a danger to anyone, I have the heart of a lion.”
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(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr)