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Andy Ruiz Jr. Stuns Anthony Joshua in Heavyweight Fight with 7th-Round TKO
June 2, 2019
Andy Ruiz Jr. pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in heavyweight boxing history as he beat undefeated Anthony Joshua by seventh-round TKO for his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Ruiz, who was listed as an 11-1 underdog at Caesars Palace, knocked Joshua down twice in the seventh round, leading to the TKO:
Entering Saturday, the 29-year-old Joshua had won all 22 of his professional bouts, all of which came by knockout, minus a unanimous decision win over Joseph Parker in March 2018.
Ruiz is now 33-1, with his lone defeat coming to Parker.
Ruiz made it clear he meant business in a frenetic third round that featured the two fighters trading knockdowns:
The challenger knocked down Joshua a second time, however, and looked to be in control of the bout.
Joshua regained his composure in the fourth and fifth rounds, but the tide turned in the sixth before Ruiz dropped the champ in the seventh.
After the match, Ruiz was thrilled and gave credit to his heritage for the win:
He and Joshua showed great class in the ring afterward. Joshua in particular gave respect to the "great fighter" and embraced the victor post-match:
It was an unbelievable sight to see Joshua crediting Ruiz for the win and not the other way around. As The Ringer's Kevin Clark pointed out, Ruiz looked out of shape during the match:
That ended up not mattering. As Boxing Scene noted, Joshua looked more gassed despite clearly being more fit:
As for where this ranks among the greatest upsets in heavyweight boxing history, Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson as a 42-1 underdog still stands alone given how invincible the heavyweight champion was at the time, but Ruiz over Joshua isn't far behind.
Eric Raskin of USBets.com has it ranked No. 1 since the Feb. 11, 1990 bout:
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao ranks it as one of the greatest upsets in boxing history:
Regardless of where this ranks all-time, the question is what happens moving forward.
All talk about a potential superfight between Joshua and Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury will presumably be put on hold after this monumental upset. And as boxing insider Mike Coppinger noted, the juice for a Joshua-Wilder fight has lost a bit of its luster with the defeat:
Mike Coppinger @MikeCoppingerWelp, this is what happens when you marinate boxing matches. The biggest fight that could be made in boxing now dead. Deontay Wilder-Anthony Joshua, if and when it happens, even if Joshua avenges defeat to Andy Ruiz, will never be as special as it could have been #JoshuaRuiz
Wilder, who lined up rematches with Luis Ortiz and Fury before the Joshua result, offered his own post-match remarks after the previously undefeated fighter's loss:
Joshua did as well, and a rematch with Ruiz should be in the works based on comments made to Sports Illustrated's and DAZN USA's Chris Mannix (h/t ESPN's Ariel Helwani):
If anything, Ruiz could also get a shot at Fury or Wilder at some point as a new heavyweight champion.
As for now, however, the first Mexican-American heavyweight champion in boxing history will bask in the glow of one of the more shocking displays this century.