Andy Ruiz believes Anthony Joshua has what it takes to capture global glory for the third time.
The California-based Mexican returns to the ring on September 4 against Luis Ortiz and has said his former opponent Joshua will have more than enough to once again be called a world champion.
Joshua was stopped by Ruiz in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York and succumbed the WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO titles before outpointing him in the rematch six months later to become a two-time champion.
Oleksandr Usyk, the former undisputed king at cruiserweight, then moved up to the sport’s premier division and once again dethroned ‘AJ’ when the pair fought at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
And as Joshua prepares to take on the Ukrainian technician on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, his ex-adversary Ruiz Jr. – who is now training with Alfredo Osuna after he parted ways with the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez team and head coach Eddy Reynoso – reckons he has what it takes to cause the upset.
Ruiz Jr. spoke to FightHub TV about the Usyk-Joshua rematch:
“I think he [Joshua] can [win], you know, in the heavyweight division, anything could happen.
“It only takes one punch to change the fight. So, it’s all up to the one that’s more hungry.
“Anthony Joshua goes down and he comes back up or he loses, and then he fights again to win.
“Usyk is a hard guy too. You know, his style. He throws combinations.”
Ruiz has said that he will be looking to put in a better showing against Ortiz than he did in his last clash, against Chris Arreola, insisting that he was unhappy with his last performance while also stating that he is looking to become a mainstay in the heavyweight division once more.
“Hopefully if I win on September 4 against Luis Ortiz, if Joshua doesn’t win then we could look for Usyk.”