Anthony Joshua suffered a dramatic and demoralising defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr here at Madison Square Garden but must now regroup, pick himself up and face his nemesis once more late in the year – most likely in Cardiff in November or December – according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Nothing less than a return victory will be good enough.
The Briton will have the opportunity to regain three of the four world title belts ripped from him after being floored four times in a thrilling fight which ended in a seventh round stoppage triumph for the challenger.
It signalled the first defeat in Joshua’s twenty-three fight career, the warning signs there for the future after he was dropped by relentless attacks in a brutal seventh round here at the sold out arena in Manhattan on his debut in the United States.
“I just have to turn it around a few notches and bring it back my way. I don?t want people to drown in their sorrows. This will show I have the power and the strength. One hundred per cent I want the rematch,” he said.
Joshua was outfought and outthought as the Mexican-American – whose victory was all the more remarkable after he took the fight on five-and-a-half weeks notice as a late replacement after Joshua’s original opponent Jarrell Miller had been removed following three separate positive drugs tests – claimed the win in one of the biggest underdog upsets in heavyweight history.
There will be comparisons to the night in 1990 when the unfavoured Buster Douglas knocked out then-undefeated Mike Tyson in the Tokyo Dome. Tyson recovered from it; now the 29-year-old Briton must haul his broken spirit and body up from the canvas and do the same.
?This is Andy?s night, congratulations champ,? offered the magnanimous Joshua, who had started as huge favourite with the bookmakers, after the brutal denouement.
?The vision remains the same. Thank you to everyone who travelled. Big respect to Andy, big big respect,? added Joshua, who had his senses scrambled in a dramatic third round after he had felled his foe first.
?He?s a good fighter. Thank you America. Thank you everyone for coming out this evening. Sorry I let my friends down, sorry I let my supporters down. There is no excuse. I got caught with a big shot, congratulations to him.?
Both of his biggest heavyweight rivals – Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder – took to social media with immediacy to offer their views.
?He wasn?t a true champion. His whole career consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts. We know who was running from who,” offered the American Wilder, the current World Boxing Council champion, still undefeated.
He wasn?t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts. Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!#TilThisDay
? Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 2, 2019 The response from Fury, who has also never been beaten, was more sympathetic. ?We have our back and forth?s but Anthony Joshua changed his stars through life. heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again.?
We have our back and Forth?s but @anthonyfjoshua changed his stars through life. heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again 👊🏼
? TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) June 2, 2019 On the upset victory, Ruiz explained: ?I’m having to pinch myself that this really happened. I want to thank God for giving me this victory, without him this wouldn?t be possible. I just feel so good, man. This is what I have been dreaming about. This is what I have been working hard for. I can?t believe I just made my dreams come true. I just want to thank my team and my family.”
The drama of the contest made it a thriller. It had been a cagey affair for the opening two rounds, but in the third, Joshua landed flush in an exchange and Ruiz was down. Moving in to look for the finish, Joshua was caught by a counter himself, from which he never recovered his senses. Twice he was down, just making it to the end of the round.
Ruiz, meanwhile, drew strength from that round.
?That was my first time ever getting dropped on the floor [in the third round]. It just made me stronger. It just made me want it more. I just had to knock him down back,? recalled Ruiz, who earned 3 million dollars but perhaps more importantly, the respect of the boxing world. He can expect to earn three times more in the rematch.
What he did brilliantly for the next three rounds was to wait patiently for an opening, showing his fighting IQ and counters as Joshua opened up once more and attacked. Down – twice more – went the defending champion in the seventh round, exhausted, dazed and confused. Ruiz had pulled off a shock upset, proving himself a worthy new champion of the IBF, WBA and WBO belts.
The untold story of Anthony Joshua’s aristocratic Nigerian roots ?It?s because of the Mexican warrior I am, I have that Mexican blood in me,” he explained. “I could sense he was hurt in there but I just didn?t want to throw away what I had. I just wanted to hunt him down even more and work the body. I just wanted to listen to the game plan.”
Ruiz agreed that he would rematch Joshua in the UK.
?Of course man, right now, I just want to celebrate. I just made history for Mexico. This is what I have been dreaming about since I was six years old.?
Promoter Hearn said his of charge: ?AJ got sloppy. It was a beautiful combination in the third round. He was in total control of the fight but he got sloppy and never recovered. Listen, tonight was his night but AJ will come back 100% and we will make the rematch in the U.K. in November or December.
“But this night now belongs to Andy Ruiz, he made history in the heavyweight division tonight. It will go down in history as a very big one. AJ has the heart of a lion and will come back stronger. Now at least we know the opponent for the end of the year in the U.K. Absolutely we will enact the immediate rematch. He will be devastated when it sinks in. It makes the autumn rematch a ‘must win’ for Joshua.?
Earlier, Katie Taylor was awarded a controversial victory on the judges’ cards to become the undisputed champion at 135 pounds, with scores of 96-94 twice in her favour, with the third judge scoring 95-95 to leave the dismayed Belgian Delfine Persoon in tears as she left the arena shaking her head.
“It was a very, very close fight. I felt like I won the earlier rounds and she came on strong at the end. But I feel like I did enough to win that fight,” Taylor said.
“Persoon was a fantastic champion and she is very, very strong. It all made for a fantastic showcase for women’s boxing. I knew this was going to be the biggest and hardest fight of my life. But I am great at digging deep. I am born for fights like these in the trenches. I worked so hard these past few months in training camp for this kind of fight. My coach is the mastermind behind this and I am so grateful.”
Callum Smith also retained his supermiddleweight crown with a one sided victory over Hassan N’Dam scoring three knockdowns in a one-sided, third-round destruction of his foe.
Tough night for Joshua, this, but he must now show his mettle and come back strong.
