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| Photo Credit: Al Bello-Getty Images |
For two and a half rounds, everything was following the script, Joshua was using the jab, keeping the shorter Ruiz at bay and when Joshua sent Ruiz crashing to the mat in the third round, the stage was seemingly set for Ruiz to go away and for Joshua to try and sell Kubrat Pulev as another challenger that was worth watching even if they weren't Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury.
Then Andy Ruiz got up.
The fight changed as Joshua moved for the kill as Sergio Mora (I believe so) raved at ringside about Joshua's patented finishing ability, Ruiz began landing counter right hands and soon after it was Joshua on the floor!
Ruiz saw his chance for a massive upset and unlike so many fighters in a similar position in heavyweight title history, he didn't become passive.
Ruiz has been criticized by many (including me) for not moving his hands enough (I thought it cost him the fight in his only loss to Joseph Parker) and on this occasion, that mistake wasn't about to be made as he hurt a stunned Joshua and dropped him again near the end of the round.
A real argument could have been made that the fight could have been stopped right there with a clearly dazed Joshua, but referee Michael Griffin was paying attention, knew the end of the round was near and in an excellent officiating decision allowed the bell to clang and Joshua to trudge to his corner.
Joshua would have his moments in the 4th and 5th (even won the 5th on my card narrowly), but you had the feeling that Ruiz wasn't going away entering the sixth where Ruiz began to throw combinations and the Andy Ruiz on this night was fighting up to his potential and you could feel Joshua almost slump his shoulders at the end of the round.
In round seven, both fighters were throwing big shots from the start of the round, but it was Ruiz with the shorter and faster shots that seemed to bother Joshua more than really hurt him and twice Joshua went down from Ruiz's punches, but yet with a tinge of a beaten fighter with his mouthpiece flying out from the second knockdown.
Here is the one thing I would say about the stoppage,
Joshua goes to his corner, places his hands on the ropes, keeps looking to his corner like a fighter that expects a break for the missing mouthpiece, the referee removes his hands, Joshua puts them back and then the fight is stopped.
Do I think Joshua was hurt? Yes
Am I OK with the stoppage? Yes, because I think Joshua would have likely gotten a clean mouthpiece and then knocked down again, his legs were that gone-But I do think he was thinking/hoping for that break in a desperate manner and considering Michael Griffin gave him one break already in continuing, I have no problems in not giving him another.
I thought both Ruiz and Joshua were classy in victory and defeat, which is more than I can say for Deontay Wilder on Twitter degrading Joshua (Tyson Fury was very encouraging to Joshua in his tweet) and PBC mouthpiece Ray Flores, who used the opportunity to praise his boss Al Haymon for giving Ruiz another chance after his release from Top Rank and needle Joshua, but if Joshua is the biggest loser on this night, Deontay Wilder is second.
Like so many fights that never happened, Joshua-Wilder will never be as big as it could have been with both fighters undefeated and therefore will more than likely see both fighters make far less, if and when that fight ever happens.
Deontay Wilder lost a lot of money last night and that might be money that he'll never get back, although I don't think he'll need any financial donations anytime soon!
Another loser is the streaming service DAZN, who had based much of their boxing kingdom around Joshua (along with Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin) and took a huge blow with the loss.
DAZN too will have much on the line in the rematch.
You still have to feel good for Andy Ruiz, who lived up to his potential in the ring on this night.
Ruiz may look like a 1980's heavyweight, but looks can be deceiving.
The rematch will be quite interesting, can Ruiz reach those heights again?
Will the inevitable media tours and appearances take something out of him?
Fighters that have never dealt with that before can react in different ways and fighters that pull major upsets often are unable to deal all that comes with the fame and the title- think Leon Spinks, Buster Douglas, Oliver McCall, and Hasim Rahman to name a few.
As for Anthony Joshua, he will likely attempt one of the harder things in boxing-change a style that has been effective for him in order to adopt a new one that protects a vulnerable chin.
It's been done, most notably by Wladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis, but those two champions had Emmanuel Steward to guide them through that transition- Anthony Joshua will not.
Now we have total chaos in the heavyweight division- even worse than before.
Ruiz has three of the four titles but doesn't have a notable win other than this one against Joshua.
Wilder is the biggest puncher, most fun to watch and longest reigning champion but faced little in good competition other than Luis Ortiz and I thought he lost to Tyson Fury.
Fury is the linear champion and I thought he beat Wilder, but he's often dull to watch and he lacks a top 10 win other than his boring win over Klitschko.
You could toss these three in any order and it would be a reasonable rating, but I'll go Fury (because I thought he beat Wilder), Wilder (Mainly on the win over Luis Ortiz and the near stoppage of Fury) and then Ruiz for now.
And don't forget this, it was the IBF's top contender in Kubrat Pulev that was up next for Joshua in the title rotation and the IBF could insist on Pulev being next for Ruiz, regardless of the rematch clause.
I'm sure Pulev will be offered step-aside money, but if he declines that, the IBF could strip Ruiz of their title for fighting the contractually obliged to and more financially lucrative Joshua rematch.
A crazy night in heavyweight boxing and the division is now more muddied than before, which was substantially so.
It could be quite a while before this clears up.
Back later with the rest of the boxing weekend.
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