Seeing as how former three-belt world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua has recently called former three-belt champ Lennox Lewis ?a clown? for Lewis? criticisms of certain career choices, it?s only fair to turn the tables a bit.
To be honest, there?s more than a bit of Clowny McClownface in AJ as well.
So, who, exactly, is better suited for clown college at this point? I?m leaning towards Joshua after this last week or so of public buffoonery.
In a recent interview with JD Sports in the UK, Joshua went way out there in ClownLand with a pathetic stab at blaming his stoppage loss to Andy Ruiz on confusion over referee Michael Griffin?s failure to replace his mouthpiece.
?My gum shield was out on the floor, so I walked back to the corner and he?s counting? He (referee Michael Griffin) said ?walk forward? so I walked two steps forward and he?s holding my belt, he?s kind of pushed my belt back so I put my arms on the ropes?I thought he was going to put my gum shield in my mouth or he was going to call the corner over to do it?Then straight after he pushed me back in the corner he just called off the fight, but the gum shield wasn?t in my mouth?If you haven?t put the gum shield in my mouth and asked me if I?m ready to fight, how can you call it off? When the person isn?t fully ready. It?s like telling someone they can?t fight when they only have one glove on, they haven?t had the chance to fight?That was the whole point. Even though it was an uphill struggle, I would always get up and be in his face. I just wanted to get up and stay in as long as I could?I?d rather go out on my back than the referee stopping it. I think the referee should have put the gum shield in my mouth.?
(Insert Circus Organ Music and Laugh Track Here)
And now, in Sky Sports? ?AJ: The Untold Truth,? Joshua comes right out and makes himself look like a fool with the clownish claim that he was felled ?by a lucky punch?a punch sent by the gods.?
He also wonders aloud about Ruiz?s mental toughness and ability to close the show.
?I don?t know what concussion is, but for sure, after the fight I didn?t know what round [the fight was stopped]. So I?m just shocked it took Ruiz Jr. another four rounds to get me out. Let me concuss Ruiz Jr.?he won?t get back up.
?Ruiz Jr. got hit by a flash knockdown?he was still raw, he wasn?t well-done, he wasn?t cooked yet. I should have left him a little bit longer. But the instinct in me was: ?Boom!? I ended up getting caught with a left hook on the top of the head. He ain?t that skilful. He?s a good fighter.?
He said all of this with a straight face.
So, by Joshua?s account, Ruiz, who got up from a big knockdown and then proceeded to knock him down four times before forcing him into meek submission is lacking in Joshua-level skill and toughness. Interesting?
It?s to be expected that a hefty dose of re-writing history is going to take place between now and whenever Ruiz-Joshua 2 is actually fought. Frankly, with Joshua and the way he got trounced and beaten into meek, almost cuckold-like, cheery defeat, there HAS to be some effort to reconstruct what happened on June 1. The man was utterly bested that night in a very embarrassing, emasculating way?especially for someone hyped to be an icon of the new era and a billion-dollar global asset. There?s no way to spin in a positive light anything that happened in the Ruiz fight, so history will need to be ?adjusted? by Team Joshua.
But none of Joshua?s recent public nonsense changes the actual facts.
He?ll need to be sharper, smarter, and tougher to beat Ruiz when they meet again and he?ll also have to rely on Ruiz, after suddenly being showered with fame and life-changing money, having lost some of his own hunger and drive.
If the same Joshua meets the same Ruiz in fight number two, Clown Prince Anthony Joshua may emerge from another beating as an Emmett Kelly ?sad clown.?
