Round 5
Both men still a bit gun-shy early in the fifth as the fight continues in the familiar pattern of Ruiz chasing and Joshua fighting in a slow retreat. Ruiz missing a pair of big shots early. Joshua lands a counter flush but Ruiz walks right through it. Joshua then wobbles Ruiz with a massive left hook that Ruiz somehow absorbs. Joshua looks fresher here and appears to be waiting for his opening.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 10-9 Ruiz Jr (Joshua 48-46 Ruiz Jr)
Round 4
Ruiz comes right at Joshua from the opening bell. Joshua may still be hurt. But Ruiz curiously backs off. Big mistake. Each man has tasted the other’s power and both appear wary. Joshua has found his footing and is back to fighting at a distance, poking away with the jab. A very quiet round. Just what AJ needed.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 10-9 Ruiz Jr (Joshua 38-37 Ruiz Jr)
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Ruiz (once) and Joshua (twice) both down in Round 3!
Joshua comes out firing the jab and lands a hook upstairs and Ruiz is down early in the third. Ruiz beats the count and tells the ref he’s OK but Joshua is coming in for the finish. Now Joshua detonates a masive right on Ruiz’s jaw but Ruiz’s walks right through it. Ruiz won’t hold on. He’s trying to fight through it and he lands on Joshua’s jaw. And Joshua is down! Oh wow! Joshua is down in a heap and now Ruiz has Joshua on the run. Joshua is holding on! And Ruiz has Joshua on the run in the corner. Ruiz is battering away! Joshua is defenseless, not throwing back! And Ruiz lands another big right and Joshua goes down – nearly through the ropes! Unbelievable scenes! Anthony Joshua beats the count but he is in serious trouble.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 8-10 Ruiz Jr (Joshua 28-28 Ruiz Jr)
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Round 2
Joshua throwing the jab with a bit more authority early in the second. Ruiz lands a pair of jabs and follows it with a right hand. More jabbing from Joshua, who is just towering over the challenger. Ruiz lunges forward with an overhand right but Joshua slides safely out of range. Joshua is measuring distance nicely here but the margin for error is ample. He tags Ruiz with a hard right flush on the jaw but Ruiz walks through it. Ruiz, as expected, just can’t negotiate his way around that jab with any consistency.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 10-9 Ruiz Jr (Joshua 20-18 Ruiz Jr)
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Round 1
Joshua looks to establish the jab early on. His advantages in height (four inches) and reach (eight) look even more dramatic here. The champion is mostly fighting off the back foot as the pudgy Ruiz moves forward in pursuit. Ruiz walks straight into a jab then nearly gets decked by a hook that’s just off the mark. Very much a feeling-out first round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Joshua 10-9 Ruiz Jr (Joshua 10-9 Ruiz Jr)
Michael Buffer is introducing the fighters. A smattering of boos for Ruiz, who’s anything but a hometown favorite in this room. The champion is announced second and the crowd goes wild. Referee Mike Griffin gives the final instructions in the center of the ring, the seconds are out and we’re off …
The fighters are making their entrances. First it’s Ruiz, who goes off as a 10-1 underdog. Now the long wait for Joshua, who’s making the challenger wait. Finally he emerges from the tunnel in a white robe with black trim to Ye’s Burna Boy. The fighters are both in the ring and we’re going to listen to a few national anthems now: first for Mexico, then for the United Kingdom, then for the United States.
It’s only 10.24pm local time and we’re already up to Sweet Caroline. An early night by New York boxing standards.
A quick note on the co-main event where Callum Smith made his first defense of the WBA super middleweight title with a third-round knockout of the veteran Hassan N’Dam.
“I said that in the build up – and it’s no disrespect to Hassan N’Dam – but this was a fight I was expected to win so anything less than a great performance people would take notice,” Smith said. “I knew that a fan-friendly, spectacular win would though. I knew it would get people talking about me. It was always about the performance just as much as the win.”
What does it mean for a potential big-money showdown with Canelo Álvarez?
“I think my audition went well,” Smith said. “Canelo is a special fighter. I will have to wait to see what he will do in September or if not September than see what he wants to do in May. He hasn’t said he is moving up to 168 yet but I believe I am the best fighter in the world at 168 so I am open to the challenge. But I don’t want to keep waiting for the fight that might never happen, I want to keep fighting great champions in the meantime and stay busy. There’s a lot of good fighters at 168 with or without Canelo so I want to text myself against them. If Canelo steps up in the future than it will happen.”
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to tonight’s heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. We’re just about ready to go here at Madison Square Garden so we’ll dispense with the pleasantries. But a quick nod to Katie Taylor, who unified all four lightweight title belts to become the undisputed champion at 135lbs with a dramatic majority-decision win over Delfine Persoon.