Where does the Joshua loss rate as an upset?

[ILikeBeer]

In the Metro, it claims that Joshua's loss is one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.

Obviously that's cobblers, and typical of the media hyperbole. Joshua was favourite, but this was hardly Douglas beating Tyson.

We all knew Joshua was being overhyped. So, it isn't that shocking in retrospect that it caught up with him. Even though I wouldn't necessarily have predicted the loss pre-fight, if that makes sense.

Where do you rate this loss amongst the great upsets in boxing's history?

[Steveh583]

It's on a par with Clinton woods beating Rico hoye

[milpool]

My first reaction was to think it was a big shock, not even close to the scale of Tyson/Douglas but still a shock.
However, it's probably still too early to see where it ranks. AJ had/has a number of question marks over him and we never know, Ruiz might reign for years to come.

[jamamb]

its not the biggest ever obviously but a lot of revionsim already about ppl expecting it, lol maybe blasted out by wilder or clowned by fury, but hardly anyone at all was saying aj was about to be battered by f@cking andy ruiz, a guy whod already lost to parker, couldnt drop dimitrenko or shot liakhovich,, and had shown nothing to clearly place him above several aj victims

there were far more ppl sh!tting on it as a mismatch in ajs favour and going 'waah hearn sucks blah blah' then saying ruiz had an excellent shot to ko him

of course now ruiz is a total beast beyond anyone aj fought and the odds shouldve been pretty close going in lol

[JimStone]

Subjective. To me it's not a huge upset at all, and that's not hindsight talking. Beforehand I stated that Ruiz could beat Joshua in more or less the circumstances he did.

To most soon fed instagram-casuals it's a massive shock, particularly in the image above all else days they live in.

[ILikeBeer]

its not the biggest ever obviously but a lot of revionsim already about ppl expecting it, lol maybe blasted out by wilder or clowned by fury, but hardly anyone at all was saying aj was about to be battered by f@cking andy ruiz, a guy whod already lost to parker, couldnt drop dimitrenko or shot liakhovich,, and had shown nothing to clearly place him above several aj victims

there were far more ppl sh!tting on it as a mismatch in ajs favour and going 'waah hearn sucks blah blah' then saying ruiz had an excellent shot to ko him

of course now ruiz is a total beast beyond anyone aj fought and the odds shouldve been pretty close going in lol

I didn't say I expected it, and I pointed out that my saying it wasn't shocking was after the fight had happened.

But, to make out it was one of the biggest upsets in boxing history is surely a bit far.

[ILikeBeer]

It's on a par with Clinton woods beating Rico hoye

Yeah, I'd go with that.

That's an example of somebody who was a fairly decent fighter, beating the odds against an opponent who was the favourite. For me, that's what happened here too.

[overhand_right]

While I was certainly surprised, it's not the biggest of upsets in hindsight.

It's more Corrie Sanders/Wladimir Klitschko than say Lewis/Rahman, or especially Tyson/Douglas.

[Fightnight Scores]

I thought Ruiz would give AJ more issues than what those casuals who would only see 'lardy boy' not lasting 2 rounds against the monster AJ. But lets face it, it's a huge upset, in todays world of overprotecting fighters and picking and choosing carefully selected opponents and the big stars only fighting once, maybe twice a year.

Joshua was 1/25 pre-fight odds, I don't recall any mention of Ruiz's odds. I believe those odds equate to half the odds of Tyson/Douglas, so it isn't quite THAT level of upset, but it's a big one! Up there with the biggest, for sure.

[paddy chavez]

When I see the weigh in i thought Ruiz hasn't got a hope as he came in so heavy I thought he's here for the pay day but I was wrong . it's up there with McCall / Rahman doing Lewis

[ILikeBeer]

When I see the weigh in i thought Ruiz hasn't got a hope as he came in so heavy I thought he's here for the pay day but I was wrong . it's up there with McCall / Rahman doing Lewis

Wasn't Rahman's win more down to Lewis' failure to prepare, as much as anything?

Or do you think Joshua wins the Ruiz Jr rematch easily?

[paddy chavez]

Wasn't Rahman's win more down to Lewis' failure to prepare, as much as anything?

Or do you think Joshua wins the Ruiz Jr rematch easily?

I mean the surprise factor is about the same I think a rematch would go a similar way with Ruiz winning again having said that I do think AJ never got over the shot to the ear that floored him .

[overhand_right]

Wasn't Rahman's win more down to Lewis' failure to prepare, as much as anything?

Or do you think Joshua wins the Ruiz Jr rematch easily?

If only Joshua had a big brother with a chin who could beat up his conquerors for him, like Wladimir had.

[stujones]

mmmm - its an interesting one.

Some good analogies there.

Obviously Joshua is not in Lewis' or Tyson's league when they fought Rahman and Douglas..... but then not sure Andy freaking Ruiz is on the same level as Rahman or Douglas either...... Andy Ruiz's previous world class win was?

At least Rahman had beaten the likes of Obed Sullivan and Corrie Sanders and went on to win some kind of version of the WBC title after losing to Lewis.

Douglas was IMO a legitimate top ten heavyweight at the time of the Tyson fight.

Its bigger, much bigger, than Haye vs Bellew.

[bigjack]

Wasn't Rahman's win more down to Lewis' failure to prepare, as much as anything?

Or do you think Joshua wins the Ruiz Jr rematch easily?

Lewis was filming oceans 11 at the time,then there was the altitude and he also came in heavy,on top of all that he probably underestimated Rahman. Still Lewis was taken out with one shot,whereas Joshua was beaten up throughout the fight.I see Ruiz winning a rematch too.

[Ricky]

105-5 amatuer & undefeated pro beats a glorified novice with big muscles. Does it even count as an upset just because so many people baught the hype?

[Ezzard]

It's a big one. Few people expected it. I didn't.

Feels like Lewis-McCall to me.

Lewis was a gold medallist with some good wins who looked destined for greatness. AJ the same.

[stujones]

Lewis was filming oceans 11 at the time,then there was the altitude and he also came in heavy,on top of all that he probably underestimated Rahman. Still Lewis was taken out with one shot,whereas Joshua was beaten up throughout the fight.I see Ruiz winning a rematch too.

Wasn't the Oceans 11 thing for Klitchsko.

[black panther]

It’s a huge upset but because AJ isn’t on the level of a Lewis or Tyson not as huge.

Also I do feel it was a poor performance by AJ but Ruiz was good enough to take advantage. As mentioned by others steaming into close quarters, trading and jabbing the body of a short, short-armed, faster handed fighter was really daft.

[black panther]

Wasn't the Oceans 11 thing for Klitchsko.

Na it was definitely right before the Rahman fight in Africa. I remember watching live the commentators staying Rahman had been there 4 weeks or something to adjust to the altitude but Lewis arrived a lot later due to filming (in a scene with Wlad).

[stujones]

105-5 amatuer & undefeated pro beats a glorified novice with big muscles. Does it even count as an upset just because so many people baught the hype?

?? Undefeated?
Joshua is no glorified novice anymore. He's beaten some legitmate threats - including Klitchsko and Parker.

Its Andy Freaking Ruiz!!!

[Ricky]

?? Undefeated?
Joshua is no glorified novice anymore. He's beaten some legitmate threats - including Klitchsko and Parker.

Its Andy Freaking Ruiz!!!

I thought Ruiz beat Parker.

Yeah ok, calling AJ a novice can certainly be classed as hyperbole, but some aspects certainly are. He even asked Rob in the corner what shot he got caught with that dropped him. He seems like a fighter who has to concentrate hard on everything he's doing, even the most basic footwork. He's always felt to me, like a guy who's had a crash course in boxing. Where as a guy like Ruiz has such a thorough pedigree it comes natural.

[Counter-puncher]

He even asked Rob in the corner what shot he got caught with that dropped him.

when you get dropped, it's pretty common that you don't know what you were hit with

Ruiz said in a post-fight interview that he didn't know what shot Joshua dropped him with

not knowing the shot that dropped you isn't a sign of inexperience, or anything but the temporary effects of concussion, really.

[bigjack]

Wasn't the Oceans 11 thing for Klitchsko.

No Rahman,he was filming with Wlad though.

[stujones]

I thought Ruiz beat Parker.

Yeah ok, calling AJ a novice can certainly be classed as hyperbole, but some aspects certainly are. He even asked Rob in the corner what shot he got caught with that dropped him. He seems like a fighter who has to concentrate hard on everything he's doing, even the most basic footwork. He's always felt to me, like a guy who's had a crash course in boxing. Where as a guy like Ruiz has such a thorough pedigree it comes natural.

I do completely agree re Joshua - hence the Bruno analogies..... which are now even stronger with the stamina issues he showed at the Weekend. Like Joshua, Bruno also had a stellar (not as stellar) amateur record even though it was rushed.

However, lets give AJ credit he's beaten quite a few top ten heavies and a few on the fringes. Since 2015 there was probably only two fighters on his resume who have never been (IMO) top 15 independently - Martin (which was for a title) and Molina.

And I'll say it again - its Andy Freaking Ruiz. The guy hasn't beaten anyone remotely in the top 20 as a Pro. Running Parker close isn't a win and indeed, who has Parker really beaten. Parker's best wins are against fighters more well known for their loses (Takam, Fury and Ruiz - up until Saturday).