Anthony Joshua has ranked performances from his 27 fight career, and came up with one of his only points decision victories as number one.
‘AJ’ burst onto the scene following Olympic Gold and set about climbing the heavyweight ladder double quick. He won his first world title in his 16th fight, added two more against Wladimir Klitschko three fights later, and a fourth against Joseph Parker in 2018.
He tasted his first defeat in his American debut. Andy Ruiz Jr was a late replacement for Jarrell Miller after he failed various doping tests, and many felt by looking at the Mexican that Joshua would run through him like he had done with opponents most of his career.
A third round blow to the top of the head staggered the Brit, and Ruiz finishing things off in the seventh, producing one of the biggest heavyweight upsets of recent memory.
It’s the immediate rematch that Joshua cites as his best performance so far. He explained to DAZN that it was more about him than Ruiz.
“I would say number one performance so far would be in Saudi Arabia when I boxed Ruiz. There was real difficult times from a certain period in my career, and after I lost in June it wasn’t a matter of it being about Ruiz, it was just a matter of being about myself. Where I needed to improve.
The rematch in Saudi Arabia came six months after the first fight, and the betting odds were much closer this time around. Joshua, as he goes on to point out, came in a little leaner and equipped with a game plan to negate Ruiz’s strongpoints.
It may come as a surprise that this is the fight he holds in highest regard given the title wins, highlight reel knockouts, and a war with heavyweight legend, Wladimir Klistchko.
The choice, he says, is down to what he overcame mentally that night in Diriyah.
“I’ve got my own reasons as to why I took that loss, but they’re my reasons and I made them right. And I went in there against all of the boxing industry saying that I should never take the rematch with him so soon, if I lose this fight I should think about retirement.
So for me it was so important to go out there and put on a masterclass of boxing IQ, executing a strict game plan. I had to kind of come back to the drawing board.
Not only did I physically have to prepare myself – for instance my body transformation in that period of time – it was my mental approach going into that fight as well. And that’s why I put it as number one, because boxing is not only physical, it’s also a mental struggle.”
Whilst many fans say Ruiz came into the fight under-prepared, there’s no question that Joshua had the determination, strong mindedness, and will to stick to a plan that won him his belts back. Given, as he points out, the slander he received after their first bout, his number one pick is justified.
If the former unified champion believes his best performance came after defeat, fans may be in for a treat come April 1. ‘AJ’ returns to the ring against Jermaine Franklin, looking to get his campaign back on track after two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.