Glove2Face

Earlier this year on June 1^st, Anthony Joshua faced off against Andy Ruiz Jr, a fighter that replaced Jarrell Miller after he failed a drug test. Ruiz wasn’t a big name in the division and had a physique that was closer to a bus driver than that of a professional boxer, so the fans were skeptical of the bout; a lot of people expected an effortless win for Joshua but that wasn’t the case. After Joshua knocked Ruiz down in the 3^rd round, Ruiz went on to return the favor twice that round and then twice in the 7^th to win by TKO, which made him the first Mexican heavyweight champion in boxing history, and he also pulled off the biggest upset we’ve seen in a while.

After that night, there was a lot of news surrounding a possible second fight; is Joshua going to take the rematch, how much money will Ruiz get paid for a rematch, what fight venue will be acquired, etc. After a lot of turmoil from both sides, the fight is among us, which is set for tomorrow, Saturday 12/7/2019 in Saudi Arabia and both fighters seem self-confident and prepared for success, but who has the better shot at victory?

In the first fight Joshua had the height advantage at 6’6” and the reach of 82”vs the 6’2” frame of Ruiz with a reach of 74”. Ruiz weighed more at 262lbs vs 245lbs, which seemed to work as a benefit; at the weigh-ins he came in heftier at 283 and Joshua is lighter at 237, which we have yet to see if it’ll help or hurt either opponent.

The numbers didn’t seem to be of any importance in the first fight as Ruiz was able to get inside Joshua’s wingspan as Joshua has never really fought tall, using his jab and reach, and Ruiz’s weight didn’t seem to slow the champ down.

Here are a few key things I believe will be needed for both fighters to have their hand raised at the end:

RUIZ:

            *Be the aggressor

            *Get in close and stay there

            *Don’t forget about the body

JOSHUA:

            *Fight from the outside

            *Lead with his jab

            *Go to the body when Ruiz gets close

            *Don’t get backed up

This should be a very competitive fight and could really go either way, but this is clearly Joshua’s fight to win or lose at this point; I expect to see the same Ruiz, so either Joshua will stop him from just walking in or we’ll see much of the same from the first fight.

PREDICTION:

I would like to think that Joshua has readjusted and will have a better game plan, but it hasn’t been proven yet if he has the ability to change, so I’m leaning towards Ruiz winning by decision. I see Joshua getting into another brawl and will began to move away when the going gets tough, which will allow him to make it to the end but won’t win him the fight.

UNDERCARDS:

I like Michael Hunter by decision over Alexander Povetkin, and Dillian Whyte over Mariusz Wach by late KO.