BOXING LEGEND George Foreman has claimed that Anthony Joshua will “whip” Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia tonight.
The 70-year-old two-time heavyweight champion believes that Ruiz Jr has “blown it”, with the Mexican-American having weighed in at an astonishing 283 pounds.
George Foreman believes that Ruiz Jr has ‘blown it’
He was able to recover from being dropped in the third to floor the hulking Joshua FOUR times on his way to victory back in June.
But having put 15 pounds on, and having been already described as “chubby” by Eddie Hearn, Foreman believes that Ruiz Jr has lost his big opportunity.
He told USA TODAY: “He’s blown it, really. He’s blown his opportunity. He threw away a great opportunity really because now he can be outboxed.
“Guys will tell you, ‘This is the way I look. I told you I’ve been there and I feel better at this weight and everything.’ But nobody, absolutely no one, wants to put their body on display and look that much out of shape.
“They don’t want to do it, I’m telling you. Don’t let him trick you.’’
Ruiz Jr wore a vest and sombrero at yesterday’s weigh-in – whereas Joshua showed off his slimmer, but still supremely toned build.
Foreman also believes that Ruiz Jr “got caught up” in the celebrity lifestyle that has come with his status as heavyweight champions of the world.
He said: “You are a celebrity and everybody wants you to taste some food.
“And you think you have enough time, six weeks come up, and you don’t have enough time to get in shape and lose weight [before the fight].
“That’s the trick. You got to lose weight and you can’t fuse them together because most of your training camp will be spent on losing weight and you just won’t be in condition for the fight.
“So he got caught up. He got caught up in this terrible.”
Ruiz Jr defends his WBA, IBF and WBO belts tonight in Diriyah, but Foreman thinks he has no chance.
“If he’s had enough time to recover, he [Joshua] should whip Ruiz without any problem.
“Just box him, box him. Take him into deep water, keep boxing him. And he should win a 12-round decision.’’
Ruiz Jr wasn’t too concerned about his weight, however, claiming: “I already had ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had on a sombrero and all my clothes.
“I probably put on like 10lbs just eating and drinking. I would’ve been at like 268lbs without all that stuff.”
The fight is set to get underway at around 9pm UK time.
The Sun Sport’s John Hutchinson & Jack Figg predict a Joshua win during an in-depth preview ahead of Ruiz v Joshua II
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
