This is Rummy's Corner.
Coming up on December 7, 2019 boxing fans will be treated to the highly anticipated
rematch between unified IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr and former champion
Anthony Joshua.
The rematch will take place in Saudi Arabia in a bout that will be televised in the United
States by the relatively new streaming app service known as DAZN.
When Ruiz and Joshua first met back in June, the roles were reversed with Ruiz entering
as the challenger and Joshua going in as the unified champion.
The expectation going in was that Joshua would take care of business in his US debut against
the late replacement challenger, but Andy Ruiz Jr had other plans and he scored a magnificent
upset victory when he stopped AJ in the 7th round of their scheduled 12 rounder.
So the big question is who will win the rematch?
Can Ruiz Jr duplicate his winning efforts from June?
Or can Joshua take back the championship that once belonged to him?
Historically speaking, when a former champion has an immediate rematch after losing his
title from suffering a knockout, we have some famous examples on both sides.
Historical situations that favor Joshua include the examples of Floyd Patterson vs Ingemar
Johansson and also Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman.
In both of these examples, the champion lost his title by knockout.
Floyd Patterson lost the heavyweight world championship when he suffered a 3rd round
stoppage loss at the hands of Ingemar Johansson back in June 1959.
Patterson reclaimed the title a year later in an immediate rematch when he scored a 5th
round knockout against Johansson.
Lennox Lewis lost the unified WBC/IBF heavyweight championship when he suffered a 5th round
stoppage loss against Hasim Rahman in April 2001.
The two had an immediate rematch in November of that year, and Lewis regained the unified
championship when he scored a devastating 4th round knockout against Rahman.
Historical situations that favor Ruiz include the examples of Sonny Liston vs Floyd Patterson,
and Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston.
Patterson lost the heavyweight championship by brutal 1st round knockout in September
1962, and when the two had an immediate rematch the following July, Liston once again stopped
Patterson by 1st round knockout.
When Sonny Liston surrendered the heavyweight championship to Muhammad Ali in February 1964,
the official verdict was a 6th round stoppage for Ali.
The two had an immediate rematch in May 1965, and this time Ali scored a 1st round knockout
against Liston.
So historically speaking, even if I'm forgetting some other famous examples of a champion losing
his title by knockout, and then having an immediate rematch with his conqueror, there
is no real historical trend going on here.
We already know that Joshua has the power to hurt and drop Ruiz.
So in order for Joshua to emerge victorious, I think he needs to change his tactical approach
a good deal.
For starters, it will probably serve Joshua well to throw less combinations.
This may seem counterintuitive, but in the first fight Joshua usually found himself in
trouble whenever he was punching and stuck at mid range.
Joshua needs to control the space better and not find himself in that vulnerable position.
That means Joshua will want to either keep things at long range, where he can shoot off
his jab and use his feet to maintain a safe distance, or he needs to smother Ruiz whenever
Ruiz finds his punching range.
Throwing one punch at a time from outside might not make for the most exciting fight,
but I think that's where Joshua ideally wants to be.
Whenever Joshua finds himself at midrange or closer, he's going to want to either step
in close and crowd, or dance his way back to a safer longer range.
Joshua would do well to study guys like Wladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis when it comes to
the art of neutralizing shorter opponents on the inside.
Joshua also might want to feint more frequently, so that he can find ways to better gauge any
would-be incoming attacks from Ruiz.
We also already know that Ruiz has the power to hurt and drop Anthony Joshua.
So in order for Ruiz to once again emerge victorious, I think the most important thing
is to remain focused, stick with what worked, and be prepared for a more measured effort
from Joshua where he will be less inclined to make the types of mistakes that cost him
dearly the last time.
Focus and discipline are top priorities for Ruiz in this one.
Ruiz needs to be ready to pounce whenever Joshua is out of position and Ruiz needs to
continue focusing his efforts on counterpunching.
The thing that really helped Ruiz last time is not only was he usually waiting to counter
whenever Joshua threw, but Ruiz was countering in bunches and this was something Joshua wasn't
equipped to handle.
After Ruiz dropped Joshua for the first time in round 3, it almost seemed as if he took
his foot off the gas as Joshua had time to clear his head and regain his composure.
But Ruiz, in actuality, was really being disciplined and fighting smart, as he stuck with the game
plan and never overextended.
Ruiz would also serve himself well if he continues investing downstairs whenever the opportunity
presents itself.
Beyond all of that, I think Ruiz should be prepared to fight whenever AJ tries to smother
him inside, because Joshua has not perfected this art.
Ruiz may find some big openings if Joshua isn't careful when implementing the type of
smothering tactics that should benefit him if properly implemented.
At the end of the day, I honestly believe that based on what we saw back in June, the
styles favor Ruiz here.
That's not to say that I think it's impossible for Joshua to win.
Far from it, I think Joshua is skilled enough, strong enough, and smart enough that he might
well reclaim the titles that once belonged to him.
All it will take is one well-placed well-timed punch from AJ.
But I honestly think Joshua has too many fundamental adjustments that need to be made if he doesn't
catch Ruiz and finish him fairly early.
Additionally, I also believe that Ruiz has a lot more room for error than does Joshua.
So for my official prediction, I'm going with Andy Ruiz Jr by 5th round knockout!
I believe Ruiz will fight a focused and disciplined fight, where he once again finds ways to exploit
mistakes whenever Joshua is out of position and within punching range.
But whatever happens, I honestly cannot wait to watch this fight!
December 7 on DAZN!
I really think this can wind up being another awesome fight between these two, and perhaps
even a contest where the sequel exceeds the original!
May the best man win!
So who do you think will win the highly anticipated December 7 rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr and
Anthony Joshua?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Thanks for watching everyone!
Hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night!
This is Rummy's Corner.