Boxing

[Maximus Decimus]

3 hours ago, DavidM said:

Well well , what a difference . Big Josh is 10 pounds lighter and Big Big Andy is 15 pounds heavier ... over 20 stone . Now I know it was deceptive but he looked fat last time , so I’m not sure what his thinking is there . Josh being lighter is totally expected 

Must admit this makes me feel uneasy. I just saw an interview with AJ from straight after and you can tell he was shocked, it was pure damage limitation.

Ruiz's team have clearly done this on purpose and they as everyone else will have presumed AJ will come in lighter. It's probably got AJ's team guessing and is an element of mind games that he probably didn't need.

I don't usually read too much into how the fighters look before fights, but Ruiz looks like he knows he will win. There is a look of supreme confidence that doesn't feel misplaced. I heard it mentioned that he doesn't respect AJ as a boxer.

[DavidM]

Well I’m going with Big Josh to box a bit more , be sharper  and win on points or late stoppage .  20 stone and 6”2 is colossal , only Valuev has come in heavier apparently . 

[Futtocks]

5 minutes ago, DavidM said:

Well I’m going with Big Josh to box a bit more , be sharper  and win on points or late stoppage .  20 stone and 6”2 is colossal , only Valuev has come in heavier apparently . 

Eric 'Butterbean' Esch has weighed in at up to 30 stone.

[DavidM]

Just now, Futtocks said:

Eric 'Butterbean' Esch has weighed in at up to 30 stone.

In world title fights !

[Futtocks]

Just now, DavidM said:

In world title fights !

In professional boxing. Admittedly, he rarely fought anything more than 4-round matches, but did win the IBA (yeah, I know) super heavyweight title.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Listening to the experts it seems pretty obvious that Joshua has to box at range and take advantage of his superior jab to wear down Ruiz.

However if Ruiz can get on the inside and bully him then our man could be in big trouble again.

I think people are looking at the Joseph Parker fight as a model for how Joshua might approach a gradual softening of his opponent akin to Lennox Lewis, but whether the aggressive Ruiz will allow such a game plan who knows.

 

[Maximus Decimus]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

Well I’m going with Big Josh to box a bit more , be sharper  and win on points or late stoppage .  20 stone and 6”2 is colossal , only Valuev has come in heavier apparently . 

Baby Miller was expected to be 22 stone, that's one of the reasons I thought AJ was so heavy in the last fight.

You'd have to think that Ruiz has done this on purpose and he's shocked everyone in the process. I hope it doesn't throw AJ off.

[Maximus Decimus]

Just put my bet on... Ruiz to win.

Doesn't reflect any great revelation, more the fact that the odds are 9/4 for what I see as a 50/50 fight.

[Damien]

Just watched the previous AJ v Ruiz fight. Ruiz looked a much stronger, better and a natural boxer. There is definitely a touch of the Frank Bruno about AJ when he gets hit with a shot. Hard to see AJ winning unless he has greatly improved his core boxing skills in the last few months and learned to take a shot.

[Maximus Decimus]

Talk about the kiss of death!

[Gerrumonside ref]

12 minutes ago, Damien said:

Just watched the previous AJ v Ruiz fight. Ruiz looked a much stronger, better and a natural boxer. There is definitely a touch of the Frank Bruno about AJ when he gets hit with a shot. Hard to see AJ winning unless he has greatly improved his core boxing skills in the last few months and learned to take a shot.

I can see why some would compare Bruno with Joshua as both have a fantastic bodybuilder physique, yet Frank was notorious for falling to bits when under sustained pressure.

I think though Joshua showed something in the Klitschko fight were he got through some adversity to come back and claim victory in a way Bruno never could.

Whether Joshua’s boxing style will suit fighting someone like Ruiz is an interesting question mark, but I hope for British boxing he can.

 

[Maximus Decimus]

8 minutes ago, Damien said:

Just watched the previous AJ v Ruiz fight. Ruiz looked a much stronger, better and a natural boxer. There is definitely a touch of the Frank Bruno about AJ when he gets hit with a shot. Hard to see AJ winning unless he has greatly improved his core boxing skills in the last few months and learned to take a shot.

Tbh there are still too many question marks around the first fight to draw any real conclusions.

For me, it comes down to 2 questions. How prepared was AJ for the fight and how much was he affected by the third round punch.

With the first, there are still persistent rumours about him being KOd in sparring - the reaction of his dad to Hearn does fuel these. Then there is potential complacency, more in underestimating and not treating the threat seriously than under-preparing. How affected was he by the Wilder victory the week before? Rather than focusing on winning, how much pressure did he feel on putting on an impressive performance.

The second is a big one. He wasn't 100% but he was pretty comfortable before this. Had he not gone in for the kill was it just a matter of time before he lost? I don't think so. Ruiz is being painted as some huge hitter but his record suggests that he isn't some unstoppable force like Wilder. He's beaten better boxers, it could just as easily been Povetkin landing that shot or Whyte.

That said, all that could be bunkum and Ruiz could just have his number. 

[Maximus Decimus]

10 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I can see why some would compare Bruno with Joshua as both have a fantastic bodybuilder physique, yet Frank was notorious for falling to bits when under sustained pressure.

I think though Joshua showed something in the Klitschko fight were he got through some adversity to come back and claim victory in a way Bruno never could.

Whether Joshua’s boxing style will suit fighting someone like Ruiz is an interesting question mark, but I hope for British boxing he can.

 

Yeh I think the similarity is unfair and based purely on his being British, an in-shape heavyweight and black. If he was American would people really be making the comparison?

AJ is far more dangerous than Bruno ever was. He does have a suspect chin but then so do many!

 

[Damien]

35 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I can see why some would compare Bruno with Joshua as both have a fantastic bodybuilder physique, yet Frank was notorious for falling to bits when under sustained pressure.

I think though Joshua showed something in the Klitschko fight were he got through some adversity to come back and claim victory in a way Bruno never could.

Whether Joshua’s boxing style will suit fighting someone like Ruiz is an interesting question mark, but I hope for British boxing he can.

 

Oh I think AJ is in a different class completely than Bruno, that is without doubt. He does freeze though in the same manner when caught with a shot and seems to struggle to recover which was more my point.

[Futtocks]

There's fair bit of swagger about Ruiz outside the ring, which can overshadow his technical abilities when the fight starts. Joshua may not hit as hard a Bruno, but looks far better in other aspects.

Not only a very interesting rematch, but one that doesn't start at stupid o'clock GMT.

[Gerrumonside ref]

8 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

There's fair bit of swagger about Ruiz outside the ring, which can overshadow his technical abilities when the fight starts. Joshua may not hit as hard a Bruno, but looks far better in other aspects.

Not only a very interesting rematch, but one that doesn't start at stupid o'clock GMT.

Your last point cannot be stressed enough! Haha 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Gerrumonside ref

[Maximus Decimus]

16 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

There's fair bit of swagger about Ruiz outside the ring, which can overshadow his technical abilities when the fight starts. Joshua may not hit as hard a Bruno, but looks far better in other aspects.

Not only a very interesting rematch, but one that doesn't start at stupid o'clock GMT.

I know. I'm sadly more than willing to overcome horrendous human rights abuses to finally watch a fight at primetime!

[Futtocks]

13 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Your last point cannot be stressed enough! Haha 

With those middle-of-the-night fights, I've always wondered how many PPV customers pay their money, get some beers and pizza in... then doze off at about midnight, only to wake up an hour or two after the fight finishes.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Futtocks

[Maximus Decimus]

17 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

There's fair bit of swagger about Ruiz outside the ring, which can overshadow his technical abilities when the fight starts. Joshua may not hit as hard a Bruno, but looks far better in other aspects.

Not only a very interesting rematch, but one that doesn't start at stupid o'clock GMT.

It's hard to judge who hits harder I reckon. Both almost never went the distance, so it comes down to a comparison of quality of opposition.

[Maximus Decimus]

1 minute ago, Futtocks said:

With those middle-of-the-night fights, I've always wondered how many PPV customers pay their money, get some beers and pizza in... then doze off at about midnight, only to wake up an hour or two after the fight finishes.

I've tried everything over the years: staying up, going bed, having an afternoon nap etc and nothing works.

You're either so tired you just want to go bed or feel like a zombie.

[Stirlin]

First punch from Luiz will hopefully dislodge the Beats from AJ's head.

[Futtocks]

39 minutes ago, Stirlin said:

First punch from Luiz will hopefully dislodge the Beats from AJ's head.

Or maybe AJ will do the same to Ruiz's (admittedly magnificent) sombrero.

[Futtocks]

Well, here we go...

[Futtocks]

Cagey first round, but AJ landed the first solid shot late on.

[Futtocks]

Round 2: very even. Both fighters cut, but neither looks like a serious one.