ANDY RUIZ JR has taken a dig at Anthony Joshua by claiming it was the Brit who threw a “lucky punch” to score the first knockdown of their fight.
Underdog hero Ruiz climbed off the canvas in round three to twice floor AJ in the same session before ending the bout in the seventh.
Andy Ruiz Jr was dropped in round three against Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Ruiz claims AJ landed a lucky punch to floor him in New YorkCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Snickers lover had Joshua in trouble when a lead hook to the temple left the Londoner incapable of recovering.
But after the 25-1 upset the ex-unified champion insisted it was a “punch sent by the gods” that started all of his troubles in the Madison Square Garden clash.
Ahead of their December 7 rematch, Ruiz fired back, telling Sky Sports that AJ was the one who was fortunate to score a knockdown – which he claims did trouble him.
He said: “That was a lucky shot for him, too. I got lazy. It was a punch in the blink of an eye. I thought: ‘what just happened?’
“I wasn’t that hurt because I wasn’t wobbling. I still had the will and the fire inside of me. I wanted to keep fighting and win the fight.”
Joshua, 30, was dumped on his hands and knees four times before surrendering the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles on his US debut in June.
The Mexican-American systematically broke 6ft 6in AJ down with body shots and fast combinations, which all came off the back of that perfectly timed left hook to the temple.
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Ruiz, 30, added: “I had to do everything possible to change the fight, and that’s what I did with the left hook.
“The left hook was a really great shot in the temple.
“The other times I hit him in the head, he loosened up and got wobbly. I was the better fighter that day because I pressured him, threw more punches and the body shots put him down.”
Joshua was dropped four times by Ruiz before the seventh round TKOCredit: AP:Associated Press
Ruiz defends his unified titles on December 7 in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Getty – Contributor
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
