Is there a need in Joshua-Ruiz III?

[Boxerbeetle]

Ruiz needs to go away and fight a few other top guys. If he can do that and stay in shape, then a third match is fine. But he shouldn’t be rewarded with an immediate rematch after not bothering with his training for this one.

[Evander]

Text book

[sixpack]

Both Ruiz and Joshua should fight other dudes before getting another crack at this.

Ruiz needs to prove himself worthy, before his only great win gets dissmissed as a fluke. Fight some decent challengers and bring some credibility to the third fight in a few years.

AJ still has big fights ahead and maybe shouldn't waste 2 years on a trilogy that wouldn't really enhance his legacy in any way.

[man]

The balls in Andy’s court as to where he goes from here. How dedicated is he? He now has ample retirement funds however his fame and legacy take a hit.

Many people believed Joshua was mentally broken yet Andy clearly wasn’t able to handle the riches and spotlight and stay dedicated. Again, it’s up to him where he goes from here. Joshua had the character to rebound - can Ruiz?

ruiz is the corrie sanders of this day
and age. able to compete with all of
them, yet not quite on the same level.

nothing wrong with that. he got lucky
that in the first time AJ took him too
easy and went for the bait.

ruiz doesn't need go anywhere from
here. he will have a couple more good
fights that bring him money and in a
few years from now retire in dignity as
the guy who wrote mexican boxing
history. this is a wonderful cinderella
story and it will end like the one written
by marcos maidana.

[Ally-M1]

Personally, to answer the thread title; I’m not bowled over by the prospect of a third fight. Not anytime soon for sure.

Ruiz ate/boozed his way out of shape (even more so than normal) - and was comprehensively outboxed by the lean and agile Joshua.

Time for them to find new opponents.

[Perseus]

A fighter who can't be bothered to get in shape for a big fight never deserves another chance if he loses.
If Miller hadn't failed his drug tests Andy wouldn't have got the first fight.
All credit to him for scoring the upset, he deserves all the reward that came with that win but then showed up in even worse shape the next time.
He already had one AJ fight fall in his lap, the upset earned him a second but he doesn't deserve a third.

[greg]

..the short answer is "no"..I've seen everything I wanted to see and it was pretty much conclusive imo...

[boxing_rocks]

Ruiz slimming down to 250 should be a prerequisite for the rematch. We already know that AJ can outrun the utterly fat version of Ruiz.

[polecateddy]

I think it’s fairly clear Ruiz will likely have a nice break now and get very fat. I think he’s done bar a couple more paydays against up and comers.

[adislav123]

Personally, to answer the thread title; I’m not bowled over by the prospect of a third fight. Not anytime soon for sure.

Ruiz ate/boozed his way out of shape (even more so than normal) - and was comprehensively outboxed by the lean and agile Joshua.

Time for them to find new opponents.

comprehensively outboxed? yeah sure.

[KiwiRider]

It's hard enough keeping all those belts.
If Ruiz earns a mandatory, good on him, but he has to wait in line like everyone else.
He has had his chance, and he blew it.

[Nile4000]

Taking nothing away from AJs great performance, Ruiz doesn’t deserve a third fight. Who knows if he had lost weight whether things would be different however you have to criticise him for it - knowing that he knew Joshua would be boxing him.

The balls in Andy’s court as to where he goes from here. How dedicated is he? He now has ample retirement funds however his fame and legacy take a hit.

Many people believed Joshua was mentally broken yet Andy clearly wasn’t able to handle the riches and spotlight and stay dedicated. Again, it’s up to him where he goes from here. Joshua had the character to rebound - can Ruiz?

My feelings exactly. If he ain't up for the sport, get out and retire like Greg Page should have done before his untimely demise. I think he can earn his way into a 3rd fight, but he has to be dedicated.

[SteveO]

Joshua has plenty of potential fights out there that will keep him busy:
Pulev, Usyk, Wilder, Fury, Hunter etc.
I think another Ruiz Jr. fight is probably way down the list.

[jamesmcdonnell]

It's hard enough keeping all those belts.
If Ruiz earns a mandatory, good on him, but he has to wait in line like everyone else.
He has had his chance, and he blew it.

If he couldn't even get motivated to train assiduously to defend the titles, I can't see him doing so to get back in contention.

He may as well retire with his money and marbles intact.

[littlepug]

I don’t think it’s necessary, think Ruiz will be like Buster Douglas, one great performance never to be repeated, I also think AJs new style is here to stay, might get some fire back in his belly once his confidence has fully returned though

[gilgamesh]

I don’t think it’s necessary, think Ruiz will be like Buster Douglas, one great performance never to be repeated, I also think AJs new style is here to stay, might get some fire back in his belly once his confidence has fully returned though

Ruiz is more like Rahman. Watch. Douglas kinda faded away altogether after losing to Holyfield, though he did have a few comeback fights that got some mild attention.

Ruiz I figure will remain prominently in the mix for at least 3 more years...similar to Rahman following his big upset. I don't think he'll win any more titles, but he'll be in the mix. If he chooses to be.

I wouldn't blame him if he just called it a career to be honest. This is definitely the highlight year of his career probably never to be topped, but there's almost certainly more big money fights out there for him if he wants to stick around for them.

Hard call to make as part of you would want to just go home, and enjoy what you've made this year, but another part of you knows you could be making a lot more in 2020 and 2021 than you were making in all the years prior to this one.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I don’t think it’s necessary, think Ruiz will be like Buster Douglas, one great performance never to be repeated, I also think AJs new style is here to stay, might get some fire back in his belly once his confidence has fully returned though

Let's not forget, Douglas was in proper shape for Tyson, unlike ruiz, who was a fat blob.

[littlepug]

I don’t think it’s necessary, think Ruiz will be like Buster Douglas, one great performance never to be repeated, I also think AJs new style is here to stay, might get some fire back in his belly once his confidence has fully returned though

Let's not forget, Douglas was in proper shape for Tyson, unlike ruiz, who was a fat blob.

Yeah Buster was in fantastic shape and an off par Tyson or not he boxed beautifully that night

[Kronkpride]

I would say there is a need for a 3rd fight for sure. Andy won in a very convincing fashion the first time. The brutality of that win shines much more than AJ's win. AJ took Andy lightly once.....Andy took AJ lightly once. AJ got the chance to take Andy more seriously and made the much needed weight and tactics adjustment. In a 3rd fight Andy would need to do the same thing.

Let's be honest here about these wins. Getting off the canvas once to put AJ down four times and basicly make him quit and no longer want to fight is the much bigger and more telling win. Andy was there at the end still plodding along without ever going down in AJ's win. AJ almost has to beat the guy twice after such a brutal and humiliating loss. His win is not comparable.

Does it have to be right away? Not necessarily. But it very well could be. The ball is in AJ's court. They could very easily justify dropping some belts to do a trilogy fight. They could also justify holding off on the 3rd belt to try and keep the titles and satisfying mandatories. It is basically all up to AJ.

I think the 3rd bout should be in the UK. I think it sells very well if it happens. I think it sells much better than a Pulev fight or even an Usyk fight. Andy brings more people to the table than either of those guys. I think the Ruiz 3 fight is better for DAZN as well. Keeping the Mexican and American fans interested in their content is very important for what they are building. So if we go with an economic perspective, all involved are better off going Ruiz 3 than anything else. And this is boxing so dollars make sense. I think this is also why both fighters had talked about a trilogy prior to the fight. It is in all of their best financial interests to do it.

I personally want to see Andy get a shot to do exactly what AJ did. Take the guy more seriously and drop some of that weight. Both guys were fed a bunch of shizit from people around them before their losses. People did not think Ruiz had much to offer the first time and people did not think AJ could actually adapt and stick to an effective game plan. Team Ruiz thought for sure they would get into a firefight and would win the fight there. Andy Ruiz has a tremendous advantage when they are going toe to toe. Next time around he needs to be ready to hustle and cut the ring off to make what he needs to have happen happen. AJ is not the retard who cannot stick to a game plan like he was told over and over going into the 2nd fight. AJ got scared and fought scared to the win. He will try to do it again. Ruiz will have to drag him into a firefight when they meet again.

[gilgamesh]

I think we need Andy Ruiz vs Chauncey Welliver to determine who the man is that gets the next crack at AJ am I right Kronk?

[Controversial]

No. Ruiz got the shot as a late replacement so it can be argued he didn't deserve it anyway. He couldn't be arsed to train and wasn't ashamed to admit it either. He has nothing AJ needs now so if he wants another crack he needs to earn it.

[lazboy]

No. Ruiz got the shot as a late replacement so it can be argued he didn't deserve it anyway. He couldn't be arsed to train and wasn't ashamed to admit it either. He has nothing AJ needs now so if he wants another crack he needs to earn it.

I agree however I won’t criticise him for being honest. He let himself down, he blew it, etc but at least he’s not trying to spin bs.

[Kronkpride]

I think we need Andy Ruiz vs Chauncey Welliver to determine who the man is that gets the next crack at AJ am I right Kronk?

I wouldn't do Andy like that. There is no way he would knock Welliver down or out. It is impossible. Chauncy taking him the distance would not be a good look for him trying to get a trilogy fight with AJ.

I would match that wanker David Price with Chauncy. Power vs Chin.....Is the Price right to do the impossible? Can David Price put the greatest chin of all times on the canvas? Get at me Eddie. I will show you how to sell a fight.

[MasterG]

No, this isnt Brexit.

[Enlightened-One]

There should be a third fight decider.

And by all accounts, this will definitely happen at some point.

What accounts?

Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua both clearly stated their intention to set-up a third bout with Ruiz Jr. before their underwhelming rematch.

They even reiterated this desire during their post-fight interviews and press conference.

Joshua and Ruiz Jr. both have wins over each other. AJ lacked motivation for the first bout. And Andy lacked motivation in their rematch. So a third fight series decider is required from a legacy perspective. Joshua will want to face Ruiz Jr. again and will probably do so during the course of one of his voluntary title defences.

Of course a pre-requisite for any potential third Joshua bout, is for Ruiz to become serious about his training and willingness to take on a fellow top-10 contender in order to receive another world title shot and also re-earn the trust of the fans that backed him so hard going into the Joshua rematch.

Whilst Ruiz Jr. is an Al Haymon fighter, we might even see an exception to the general rule, by seeing him compete against one of Matchroom’s big names on one or two of Eddie Hearn’s fight cards. The Matchroom boss said yesterday that he’d love to work with Andy Ruiz Jr. again, as he helped DAZN achieve huge buys.