Comments Thread For: Joshua: I'll Definitely Be Beating Ruiz To The Punch Tomorrow!

[champion4ever]

If AJ just work behind the jab then he should do just fine. All he has to do is box, slow down the pace of the fight and utilize his physical advantages over the destroyer.

In addition, he must fight like a tall man by standing erect and staying out of the exchanges because Ruiz' hands are a lot faster than his. Likewise, it's Ruiz's only window to winning this fight also.

So neutralize the urge of trading and exchanging punches with Ruiz and then AJ should be just fine.

[P4Pdunny]

I can’t see how the extra weight will help Ruiz it won’t make him hit harder.

[teejay1973]

My concern for Joshua is that Ruiz's style is totally wrong for AJ - not so much the fact that Ruiz works well at close range, but more to do with hand speed - we know already that Ruiz isn't the fastest on his feet, but when in range he delivers some punishing body shots and extra weight behind those hands makes him more formidable, however what noticeable difference will that extra weight carry through to his hand speed? What Joshua has done and proven before that if he carries less weight, he still has power, in fact, he throws faster and speed carries power.

I believe coming in 10lbs lighter works in his favour - he has fought at similar weights before and looked better for it and has never looked great carrying more muscle. At just under 17 stone, Joshua has a much better chance.

I watched through some of his old fights and especially the Dillian Whyte fight - I noticed that AJ got gassed pretty early on in the 2nd after taking a big hit from Whyte, though Joshua worked through the Whyte barrage and composed himself to finish it in the 7th starting with a punch that was just like Ruiz's brain scrambler. It was that same punch that effectively ended it for Whyte and 20 secs later, Whyte was out of there. My point is that that punch that Ruiz delivered was probably better and yet took him another 4 rounds to put Joshua away. Ruiz isn't a one-punch artist, throwing fast combos is his forte, but IF the weight has a detrimental effect on his hand speed, then he has just taken away his biggest asset.

All from what I have heard about Ruiz's training camp not going to plan, ie felt drained, overeating points to him being too overconfident. My question is - if Ruiz doesn't land that left over the top in the 3rd what would have been the outcome of the first fight? I still think that punch played a huge and pivotal role in the fight.