DEONTAY WILDER has branded Anthony Joshua “the new Klitschko” after the Brit’s easy points win against Andy Ruiz Jr at the weekend.
Joshua bounced back spectacularly from his crushing defeat to the Mexican in June to regain his heavyweight world titles out in Saudi Arabia.
Deontay Wilder wasn’t too impressed with Anthony Joshua’s tactics to beat Andy Ruiz JrCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The 30-year-old clearly changed his tactics for the fight, opting for a “hit and don’t get hit” strategy.
His movement and jab proved far too much for an outclassed Ruiz, who came into the rematch badly out of shape at 20st 3lbs.
But despite the landslide points win, some have criticised AJ’s performance.
The latest being WBC champ Wilder, who likened the new WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champ to Wladimir Klitschko.
Anthony Joshua comfortably won back his heavyweight titles by outpointing Andy Ruiz JrCredit: Reuters
Following their 2017 bout that saw Joshua stop Klitschko in the 11th round, the two have remained good friends, with Joshua admitting he often asks his old opponent for advice.
Speaking on radio station SiriusXM, Wilder, who delivered an incredible one-punch KO to win his last fight against Luis Ortiz, said: “Joshua did what he had to do to get the win.
“He ran around the ring and was on his bike all day.
“Basically, he had Klitschko in the camp and he was a lot like Klitschko. That jab-grab-hold method. That’s all he did.”
‘POOR MAN’S TYSON FURY’
Joshua was labelled a “poor man’s Tyson Fury” by the Gypsy King’s coach Ben Davison, despite a wide-margin points victory.
He said: “Good performance, he added another side to his game, done what he needed to do, got the win which was the most important thing.
“That’s exactly what he needed to employ. It was almost, not in a horrible way, but it was like a poor man’s Tyson Fury, wasn’t it?
“That’s not in a nasty way because, you know, obviously he can’t do it to the level of Tyson but it was the tactics and he did well.”
Despite some criticism in some quarters, it’s nothing to what is being thrown at Ruiz Jr after his revelation that he “partied for three months” before the fight.
The likes of Wilder, Paulie Malignaggi and legendary promoter Frank Warren have all slammed the Mexican for coming into the fight so out of condition.
Anthony Joshua wants to take on Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder next year and thinks he can beat them both
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
