THE BOXING world is split on whether it will be repeat or revenge for Anthony Joshua at the weekend.
At a 15,000-seat purpose-built arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the Brit will get the chance to take his belts back in a rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Anthony Joshua has the chance to reclaim all his old world titles this weekend in a rematch against Andy Ruiz JrCredit: Reuters
Back in June the unfancied Ruiz Jr floored Joshua three times on the way to a stunning seventh-round stoppage victory to be crowned unified champ.
He only stepped in at three weeks’ notice, yet delivered one of boxing’s biggest ever shocks at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Despite that, Ruiz Jr, the champion, is the underdog once again – but is adamant it is his destiny to have his hand raised once again.
Here, SunSport finds out who boxers, coaches and legends of the sport think will win at the dust-up in the desert.
Tyson Fury – Ruiz Jr
The Gypsy King, set to rematch Deontay Wilder on February 22, told the True Geordie Podcast: “Andy Ruiz is a little fat pig, comes in on three weeks’ notice, murdered every donut and taco in California and then goes in with a man who’s had a 12-week training camp with every sports scientist in the United Kingdom.
“But the little fat fella goes in there and bowls him over in seven rounds.
“I see it going pretty much similar to the first fight.
“Everybody has a bogeyman in their career. Whether you find him or not, everybody’s got one.
“I think personally he may be the bogeyman for him.”
Tyson Fury thinks the result will go the same way as the first fightCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Dillian Whyte – Joshua
Whyte, who is featuring on the undercard, said: “I think it’s a great fight just like the first one was.
“Everyone was overlooking Andy Ruiz in the first fight, even I thought Joshua was gonna knock Ruiz out in six rounds.
“The great thing is he has a chance to put everything that was wrong right.
“He’s British, he’s my competitor and he’s my rival, I’m gonna back him. Hopefully he wins and I want him to win.”
AJ’s old foe Dillian Whyte is tipping his fellow Brit to get his revenge come fight nightCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Deontay Wilder – Ruiz Jr
The WBC heavyweight champ told Sky Sports: “I really believe Andy’s gonna go in there and do it again.
“When I look at the first fight and I see certain things as a fighter, a lot of red flags that alert me.
“And if that same mindset and momentum goes into the second fight, Andy Ruiz is going to win that easily.
“I’d prefer him to win because we’re in the same stable. When he wins we have the opportunity to unify the division.”
Deontay Wilder believes a win for Ruiz Jr means an easier path to an undisputed fightCredit: Getty
George Foreman – Joshua
Speaking to Gareth A Davies on talkSPORT’s Fight Night, former two-time world heavyweight champ George Foreman said: “Oh, he’ll come back and be even better now, because [of] the realisation that you can lose.
“Sometimes you can believe all the hype and you just think you can’t lose. I’ve been in that position.
“You’re on the floor. The greatest thing is the embarrassment. If you can overcome that by way of friends and family, you’ll be better.
“When you lose a fight as heavyweight champion of the world, it’s not like you lost a fight, you lose a part of yourself and you got to go find it.
“A lot of times, the hardest part is you didn’t get beat, you just fell for the hype. People say ‘you’re so good, you’re so good’ and then you think ‘I let the people down’.
“But you can recapture yourself and understand look, I’m an athlete, I got to go back to the drawing board.”
Boxing legend George Foreman believes Joshua will come back stronger from the shattering defeat in the first fightCredit: Getty
Lennox Lewis – Ruiz Jr
Lewis, who avenged his own shock defeat to Hasim Rahman in 2001, told FightHype: “If they don’t fix what is wrong with Joshua, Ruiz Jr wins that fight hands down.
“It must be mental as he didn’t look the same coming to the ring as he usually looked.
“Hopefully it will come out in the future.
“Joshua made it easy for Ruiz Jr because he wasn’t fully there.”
Kevin Barry – Joshua
The trainer who sensationally backed Ruiz Jr to shock Joshua in their first fight believes the Brit will get his revenge second time around.
Joseph Parker’s trainer Kevin Barry was in the minority who predicted the Mexican outsider would inflict Joshua’s first defeat of his career in June.
But he is going for the other side this time round. Barry told the BBC: “Ruiz has the belts and everyone says once you become champion you’re tenper cent better and I think that is a fair statement.
“But I think Joshua will fight a totally different fight. When he had Ruiz down, all he had to do was take his time but he ran in with the wrong punches and put himself there to be hurt.
“This time we will see more poise. If he uses his skills and controls the pressure, I think Joshua wins the fight.”
Anthony Joshua says he hasn’t focused on his weight but on his boxing as he looks forward to Andy Ruiz Jr fight
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
