*Folks, let me begin this one by saying that monumental upsets (like Andy Ruiz over Anthony Joshua) are nothing new in this sport.
We could go all the way back to Mike Weaver vs “BIG” John Tate when the odds were like thirty something to one and Weaver flattened Tate with a devastating knockout and shook up the world, or even before that when Ali beat Sonny Liston in ’64 and stopped him seven rounds.
Or how about Tyson vs Douglas in Tokyo, Japan, or Tyson vs Holifield I, not to mention Rahman vs Lewis in South Africa.
There are so many episodes in the heavyweight division that have occurred where there were monumental upsets but the one fight that this one reminded me the most of was when Muhammad Ali went against Leon Spinks in their first fight. Ali was still the champion at that time and he was fighting a young, hungry and talented former Olympic gold medalist whom nobody thought had a chance at beating the champ.
As I watched this one go down folks, I couldn’t help but to think about Leon Spinks and how he dismantled Ali and captured the WBA heavyweight title. A lot of people thought Andy Ruiz didn’t have chance coming into the ring looking flabby around the waste and much shorter of an opponent to the champion Anthony Joshua. And as this fight got started you got the sense that Ruiz was going to get destroyed but let me tell you something folks, I’ve watched him for a long time as his career has progressed and this young kid has a fighting ability and above all, the heart of a real warrior and can really scrap. He doesn’t have a 34-1 with 23 knockouts record for nothing and he has fought some big tall guys before so it wasn’t a big surprise to me that he was able to land on the inside of Joshua with body shots and follow up with combinations to the head that eventually took a massive toll on that champion whom in my opinion didn’t look to be taking this young man seriously. Maybe it’s just me, but it also seems like Joshua wasn’t in top condition either because he looked very exhausted after he knocked down Ruiz in the third. Ruiz got up from that and knocked the champ down twice in that round showing everyone present what kind of heart he had.
And as the fight continued Joshua began to deteriorate even more from fatigue and Ruiz was able to knock him down two more times in the seventh when at 1:27 into that round referee Mike Griffin decided that was enough for him and called a halt to the bout after Joshua failed to respond to his commands thus declaring Ruiz the winner and new WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion. This kid deserves all of what he fought so hard for and what makes this so special is that fact that he is now the first fighter of Mexican decent to become heavyweight champion.
And of course their was a rematch clause in the contract and Joshua has exercised that so promoter Eddie Hearns has announced that they will be fighting again later on this year in the U.K. The odds are folks, that we will be seeing a much different Joshua when this happens and let’s hope that Ruiz will still have the title then. As I always say, we’ll see what happens.
What also took place on the same night that Ruiz became champion was Ivan Redkach improved his record to 23-4 by stopping Devon Alexander at 1:10 in the sixth knocking him down three times out at the Soboba Casino and Resort in San Jacinto, Calif. as this was an impressive win for Redkach and a devastating loss for Alexander. Redkach had former world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley and current champion Leo Santa Cruz both working his corner in this one. And in the semi-main event a very competitive bout took place with Willie Monroe going against Hugo Centeno with Monroe scoring a unanimous decision after ten grueling rounds improving his record to 24-3.
In the meantime, Deontay Wilder has announced that he wants a rematch with Tyson Fury to settle a score from their last encounter that took place last year at the Staples Center that ended in a draw.
Coming up on June 15 Tyson Fury goes against Tom Schwarz in a bout telecast on ESPN, June 23 Tony Harrison goes against Jermell Charlo in their rematch telecast on Fox.
“When the tide goes out, that’s when you’ll find out who’s been swimming naked”-Warren Buffett
*Mohammed Mubarak can be reached at [email protected] for your comments. He’s an artist as well and you may go to mubarakart.com or qmubarak06 on instagram and view his works.
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