Ruiz v Joshua 2 confirmed - rematch clause triggered - Nov/Dec

[TitoFan]

Must win. Hope he doesn't ring David Price for advice.

He'll be gun shy and ruiz will be confident.

Wlad and Lennox is who he should be ringing for advice! Both suffered big losses vs underdogs and both came back stronger and AJ is roughly their size.

They'll tell him
1. Stick the jab
2. Move your feet
3. Use your size to your advantage

Should be exactly that simple, but the brain has to work properly too. That fight or flight instinct has to be under control or you'll gas out or go all wobbly as soon as something lands clean.


The worst thing AJ could do is get angry at himself and try to end a rematch with 1 punch. I think AJ knocking Ruiz down in their fight ended up hurting him because he relaxed, allowed Ruiz into the fight, and he wasn't able to regain control of the fight again.

Good points, but I don't know about Lennox. Lewis lost to Rahman and McCall because he was lazy and maybe overconfident. He kept his left low, and got clocked with right hands both times. At least with Rahman, who didn't have a nervous breakdown in the rematch, Lennox came out on fire. Mindful of the power of Rahman's right hand, Lennox was a different fighter. I don't think Joshua was exactly lazy against Ruiz. But I would agree that knocking down Ruiz ended up hurting Joshua in the end.

[Baal]

Joshua need let Ruiz come to him

[TitoFan]

I think that was the problem, Baal. Ruiz just kept coming.

[Baal]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

[Gandalf]

Parker showed a better approach. Use a good jab, make Ruiz use his feet, and don't drop in close too oftwn because he is quick. It would have to be a Barrera/Juarez 2 style fight. Beat the man with one hand, a jab. Otherwise, Ruiz will hunt you down and hurt you.

[TitoFan]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

You're absolutely right. Joshua is taller, rangier. In the rematch he should keep Ruiz at the end of his jab. But a punishing jab. None of this chickenshit pawing boxers do sometimes. He also needs to move side to side. Look for angles against the onrushing Ruiz. Also as @El Kabong said..... don't go for the one-punch knockout. Just 'cause he dropped Ruiz one time it doesn't mean Ruiz has a weak chin. To the contrary. With the right mental attitude and preparation, it should be a hell of a fight.

[Gandalf]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

You're absolutely right. Joshua is taller, rangier. In the rematch he should keep Ruiz at the end of his jab. But a punishing jab. None of this chickenshit pawing boxers do sometimes. He also needs to move side to side. Look for angles against the onrushing Ruiz. Also as @El Kabong said..... don't go for the one-punch knockout. Just 'cause he dropped Ruiz one time it doesn't mean Ruiz has a weak chin. To the contrary. With the right mental attitude and preparation, it should be a hell of a fight.

Ruiz clearly does not have a weak chin, has heart, and a huge neck. He seems to be very durable. I can see Joshua fighting much smarter next time, but he won't be able to move all night and has stamina issues. He will get caught and it is then that he will have to answer questions. A 40 year old decade long gun shy Wlad will let him off the hook, but Ruiz is young, can let his hands go and is willing to take a shot to land his 3-4 in return. It will be a challenge for him. I didn't really rate Joshua all that highly to begin with, but at least it makes it all look a bit more realistic now.

[smashup]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

You're absolutely right. Joshua is taller, rangier. In the rematch he should keep Ruiz at the end of his jab. But a punishing jab. None of this chickenshit pawing boxers do sometimes. He also needs to move side to side. Look for angles against the onrushing Ruiz. Also as @El Kabong said..... don't go for the one-punch knockout. Just 'cause he dropped Ruiz one time it doesn't mean Ruiz has a weak chin. To the contrary. With the right mental attitude and preparation, it should be a hell of a fight.

Bang on @TitoFan it really is that simple to beat Ruiz.
Bang the jab out hard into his face all night and don't go looking for the KO.
5-6 rounds of solid boxing at range then let the bombs go and the KO opportunity will present itself.
Problem is has he got the stamina to do this?
Lose the muscle, get some speed back and stop lifting weights would be the first thing id have him do if i was McCracken.

[SlimTrae]

AJ should get his advise from his fans who said he is a skilled boxer
LOL.

As stated here,his jab was lazy and came out one at a time.
He fought moving back.
And didn't handle shots to his head, not chin.
And gassed out from 4-5 rounds.

How do you fix those issues?

[El Kabong]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

You're absolutely right. Joshua is taller, rangier. In the rematch he should keep Ruiz at the end of his jab. But a punishing jab. None of this chickenshit pawing boxers do sometimes. He also needs to move side to side. Look for angles against the onrushing Ruiz. Also as @El Kabong said..... don't go for the one-punch knockout. Just 'cause he dropped Ruiz one time it doesn't mean Ruiz has a weak chin. To the contrary. With the right mental attitude and preparation, it should be a hell of a fight.

While the punch ain't great to look at and doesn't "score" I'm not sure some boxers understand the benefits of the pawing jab. Think of it like you're a batter facing a pitcher if all the pitcher throws is 100 mph fastballs then when you're at bat you expect 100 mph fastballs. So when there's a changeup thrown it LOOKS like a fastball but it is much slower on purpose so the pitcher can get a swing and a miss or simply see the reaction of the batter. In boxing the pawing jab can be used to keep your opponent busy while you assess their defense. You can swat your opponent's guard, you can hook off the jab, you can line up a powerful jab or a straight right...it's seemingly a throwaway punch but it's a useful tactic if used correctly.

AJ has 0 focus on defense and engaged a hurt opponent in a reckless fashion he got caught and never fully recovered.

[Manos de Piedra]

Anthony 'Khan' Joshua will get beat again.

I'm just gutted that Fury or Wilder didn't get to embarrass him.

[TitoFan]

I see that Tito also. I try say Joshua need stay outside. Keep get caught inside

You're absolutely right. Joshua is taller, rangier. In the rematch he should keep Ruiz at the end of his jab. But a punishing jab. None of this chickenshit pawing boxers do sometimes. He also needs to move side to side. Look for angles against the onrushing Ruiz. Also as @El Kabong said..... don't go for the one-punch knockout. Just 'cause he dropped Ruiz one time it doesn't mean Ruiz has a weak chin. To the contrary. With the right mental attitude and preparation, it should be a hell of a fight.

While the punch ain't great to look at and doesn't "score" I'm not sure some boxers understand the benefits of the pawing jab. Think of it like you're a batter facing a pitcher if all the pitcher throws is 100 mph fastballs then when you're at bat you expect 100 mph fastballs. So when there's a changeup thrown it LOOKS like a fastball but it is much slower on purpose so the pitcher can get a swing and a miss or simply see the reaction of the batter. In boxing the pawing jab can be used to keep your opponent busy while you assess their defense. You can swat your opponent's guard, you can hook off the jab, you can line up a powerful jab or a straight right...it's seemingly a throwaway punch but it's a useful tactic if used correctly.

AJ has 0 focus on defense and engaged a hurt opponent in a reckless fashion he got caught and never fully recovered.

IMO it depends on how you use that "pawing jab". If there's "a method to the madness"..... in other words.... if the pawing is for a reason and not used endlessly (think Wlad vs Sultan).... then ok, you have a plan. Maybe you're trying to throw your opponent off guard (ergo the changeup analogy). But you'd better intermingle some "hurt-carrying" jabs in there, or it simply becomes a nuisance which the opponent quickly learns to ignore and walk through. Personally not a fan of the pawing jab, as it's use is limited and of short duration. For the same reason refs will intervene and warn a fighter for just holding his glove out there at arm's length, so should excessive and endless pawing be discouraged. It's boxing, not pitty-pat. I think Joshua should utilize a ramrod jab (if he's got one in his arsenal) to keep Ruiz earnest, while using angles to offset Ruiz's rushes.

And yes.... Joshua's stamina is an issue which less focus on muscle-building would probably help.

[J_Undisputed]

First 3-4 rounds is going to be blood in the water. Ruiz and his camp have to know he has a chance of making it an easy night if he jumps on Joshua and triggers all the "oh sh*t here we go again...wtf am i doing in here..i must have been crazy to sign" feelings. 3-4 is enough to give Ruiz chance to go full bore and while Joshua is trying to shake the jitters and accept his fate (good or bad) and realize he can survive it and win if he chooses to.

Now I'm not suggesting Ruiz be stupid and run in and start wailing away trying to steamroll. If hes smart, he'll be aggressive but careful. What Ruiz is looking for is Joshua to give him an opportunity to counter by opening up when he tries to back Ruiz off with heavy artillery. Force Joshua to fight without putting himself in a bad situation (change it up by feinting a little bit and going low-- same aggression different look as you know Joshua's camp will be combing the tapes expecting him to come up top and straight ahead.

For Joshua, he needs to take it one round at a time and slowly build his confidence (give Ruiz death by a thousand cuts) and have a game plan to switch up mid rounds after he has Ruiz thinking he can have his way. Don't take the Ruiz bait and be tempted to throw with him unless its straight down the middle where Ruiz's arms are too short to throw straight punches with Joshua (don't hook with the hooker). Otherwise, let Ruiz be active and aggressive, but show him something different by jabbing to the mid section to keep him off balance and let him find a way past it. When he makes it past, into mid-range, Joshua needs to keep his hands, chin down, elbows tight and pick his spots for the straight punches down the pike. After he lands, or if Ruiz makes it all the way in... he needs to tie up Ruiz and smother Ruiz's instinct to brawl on the inside where hes normally hard to contain, lean on him and just start tenderizing the body a bit before the ref separates. After 4 rounds of of this, it should take some of the gas out of Ruiz, and Joshua can start aggressive working the jab and right hands and use some angles to pick at him, but under no circumstances start going combo crazy in mid range until Ruiz starts slowing down and his legs have gone. Ruiz is always dangerous. Joshua's other option is to straight outpace him, but Joshua's bulk prevents that, he'll wear down faster than Ruiz.

Problems: Joshua and wilder have the same problem. They get caught up in offense and then get caught ugly, because they never see the punches coming. Both train to avoid these punches from the outside, but do nothing for mid range. They need need mitt work that's going to to improve hand eye coordination at mid-range (A different approach would be some wing chun drills, if you can't see it at least feel it) Joshua gets flustered inside and succumbs to the pressure because his focus is on his defense and escaping rather than his opponents punches. He shells up indiscriminately and waits for the storm to be over. @SlimTrae, the shots to the side of the head are key for Ruiz. Joshua's shoulders are big and Ruiz is shorter, so that puts Joshua's chin right behind shoulders from ruiz's perspective. The punches that Ruiz is buzzing Joshua with is probably not by design as much as happy coincidence as he's trying to get his punches up over the shoulders to get to the head. Those, fortunately for Ruiz, land right on the side of the head over and behind the ear, that will really screw with your equilibrium and have a greater chance of maximizing the force jarring the brain, because your heads tethered and more stable at the bottom because of your traps and the muscles in the neck.

Ruiz carries some extra pounds obviously, and preserves himself by fighting in spurts. He always looks like hes ready to go and is better conditioned than many people would believe at first glance. He also hides it well because of his attitude. @El Kabong , i'm not so sure if it was the knock down making Joshua relax as much as it was Ruiz getting up and not giving a F*ck that made him tight. I believe Joshua's blood ran cold when Ruiz got up and acted not only like it didn't happen but that he just insulted and fought harder. He took Joshua's best shot and Joshua couldn't take his. They both know it and that's dangerous for both. It was the same attitude that Maidana and other fighters wear to the ring (win or die trying). Joshua seems like a likeable guy, and a Professional. When a Gentleman encounters a savage, whether he chooses to outsmart him or out brawl him, he has to understand him first. I'm not sure Joshua does just because he also got up from vlad's knockdown to return the favor. There in lies the other danger... Does Ruiz now lose some of that? Will he fight harder because he doesn't want the dream to end now that he's arrived or will he say I've made it, relax and not know what happened until after his coach has turned back into a pumpkin.

Just my opinions, of course.