The Reinvention Of Anthony Joshua?

The latest chapter in the career of former two-time Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua began on April 1st in London, England under significant uncertainty and hype regarding what Joshua, who was working with a different trainer for the third time in as many fights, would look like coming off his second consecutive loss to undefeated unified WBO/IBO/IBF/WBA Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk, the man who ended Joshua's second reign as a world champion im 2021.

Although the declaration of both his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and of Joshua himself that a loss to upstart Heavyweight content Jermaine Franklin would signal the end of his career was in some ways a classic way to hype a fight out of a promoter's handbook, it was fair to wonder if following his second loss to Usyk as to whether or not he could adjust his style now under the guidance of trainer Derreck James. It was also fair to question if after two setbacks, whether or not the losses to a master boxer in Usyk was indeed the start of a decline in Joshua.

In the interest of honesty with the reader, I did not buy the hype tactics that were whether one would admit it or not, were designed to generate interest in what was a non-title fight and one that lets be honest, had little impact in terms of the outcome on the current upper echelon of the Heavyweight division. What this fight did represent however, was both a chance for Joshua to get back on track and show that he was still a player in the division, as well as a chance for Jermaine Franklin to show that his performance in dropping a decision loss to longtime contender and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte late last year, which gave him the opening for this opportunity was no fluke and if he were to br successful in this fight, it would show that he is now a player in the division.

The only thing left for both Joshua and Franklin to do was to enter the ring before a crowd of nearly 20,000 spectators at London's O2 Arena to do battle. What stood out immediately was Joshua seeming to be more defined physically as compared to his rematch against Usyk in August by coming into this fight at a career high for him 255 1/4lbs, but despite being heavier, Joshua appeared to be solid and in great condition. Although Joshua had built his reputation prior to his three career losses to Andy Ruiz and twice to Usyk on his ability to score quick and often devastating knockouts, Joshua began this fight appearing tentative in that he did not look to impose his will immediately, but appeared instead to implement a strategy with an emphasis on technique. A focal point from the outset that would serve the former world champion greatly throughout the fight was his jab and his ability in using that jab to maintain a distance between him and Franklin.

While this was not necessarily the most entertaining of fights to watch if you were one that was expecting to see a quick knockout, it was clear as Joshua gradually began to put round after round in the bank by simply fighting tall and looking to box Franklin, that this would be a significant adjustment in his style. He was not aggressive, but tactical, was not devasting, but measured. One key aspect of this strategy that Joshua executed well as the taller fighter was that whenever Franklin was able to get close, he would immediately tie him up and put his body weight on Franklin. There have been times throughout history, most notably used by fighters such as the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, as well as Lennox Lewis with regard to the Heavyweight division, where the use of such tactics boardered on being illegal, but it often boils down to what a referee will let a fighter with those physical advantages to get away with before being admonished that will determine how much the fighter will tempt fate and try to use such tactics to their advantage.

In this case, though Referee Marcus McDonnell would caution Joshua periodically throughout the fight, Joshua did not step over the line where I would feel that he should have been penalized a point or further disciplinary action was needed. Having said that, Joshua’s use of holding did serve two purposes throughout this fight. One it allowed him to control the output of Jermaine Franklin and it also provided an immediate defensive tactic whenever Franklin was able to connect with solid punches most notably with his right hand.

Despite the periodic success Franklin did have in landing that right hand, he had no answer to avoid the jab of Joshia and he had no way to avoid being tied up on the inside when he was able to get close. This was the story of the fight in that one fighter had some periodic moments throughout, but he could not find a way to halt the offense or the rhythm that his opponent was able to establish throughout the fight as Joshua boxed his way to a wide twelve round unanimous decision victory.

Although this was probably not the way that Anthony Joshua, his promoter Eddie Hearn, or the fans for that matter envisioned a victory for him in this fight, the bottom line is he did get the job done and therefore, his performance in this fight, though different from his previous norm, was still successful. The obvious question for Joshua going forward will be whether he will troy to secure a fight with undefeated two-time Heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, current holder of the WBC world championship in the division now that negotiations for a fight between the champion and Oleksandr Usyk for what would be the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world have stalled if not outright broken down. 

It is indeed true that in regard to the United Kingdom, a fight between two of the sport’s biggest stars in Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua does carry more significance as both are based in the United Kingdom and each have drawn massive crowds for their fights often held in big outdoor stadiums. As tempting and lucrative as that might be, if I were advising Anthony Joshua I would stress the importance of staying active. 

Often times both for economic reasons as well as their stature in the sport, fighters who reach a level such as Anthony Joshua has in his career tend to lose sight of the importance of staying active by fighting on average once or twice a year if that between fights deemed as significant or title defenses assuming said fighter is a world champion. A concept that was part of the norm in the sport in decades past was that star fighters regardless of whether they were world champions or not fought regularly, some doing so every few months, and while the level of competition was not always the highest particularly when world champions would compete in non-title fights between defenses, by being active regularly it allowed the fighter to remain in what is often referred to as “Ring Shape” or “Boxing Shape” so that when a fight of significance did come along, their odds of performing well were at least increased. 

In the present time where fighters that are regarded as top level fighters or world champions are making millions of dollars each time they compete, it is hard to tell a fighter that they should be more active. In this case, if a fight against Tyson Fury is not available to him within a window of two to three months, this observer believes the best option will be for Joshua to simply fight whomever is available even if it meant that he might have to face a fighter of little regard that is not ranked highly in any of the five recognized world sanctioning organizations as by being active he will not only be able to polish and refine his skills and apparently a new style that he and his trainer Derreck James used in this fight against Jermaine Franklin, but by being more active than his contemporaries at the top of the division, it will improve his odds of success when the next opportunity to fight for a world title does come along.

While it is still unclear whether the version of Anthony Joshua we saw against Jermaine Franklin is a “Reinvention,” the best way to continue to improve and move on from those setbacks he has suffered throughout his career is to be as active as possible. Something that can only happen inside the Boxing ring and not by waiting by the phone while negotiations on the business side of the sport, hopefully, play itself out.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

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Joshua-Franklin: Can Joshua Bounce Back?

Only with the rarest of exceptions, one would be hard pressed to not find a fighter in the sport of Boxing or to take it a step further, all of combat sports, that has not at one time or another experienced a setback or several throughout the course of their careers. This is one reason why veteran writers/journalists/historians such as this observer will refer to what a fighter goes through during the course of their careers as "Chapters" in the story of that career. The story of former two-time Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua is one that is about to embark on a new chapter that one might have the working title of "The Rebuild?" or "The Comeback." 

Without delving too much into the backstory of how we got here to what will be the start of what is essentially phase three of Joshua's career, the conclusion of the previous chapter was Joshua's failure to regain his title for second time in his rematch against undefeated unified IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk in August of last year, Usyk, the man who took the unified portion of the World Heavyweight championship from Joshua and ended his second reign as champion over a year earlier.

While Joshua fought a better fight in the rematch with Usyk, he was still unable to get the job done. In hindsight, even though Joshua had an immediate rematch clause, which he exercised to get another fight with Usyk, there are likely some who question the wisdom of that decision even though he was simply out boxed by a master tactician both times and was not knocked down or out in either bout. Now Joshua prepares to try and get his career back on track as he will face Heavyweight contender Jermaine Franklin on Saturday, April 1st at the O2 Arena in London, England. A bout that can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN.

Although there is the similarity of both Joshua and Franklin coming into this fight off of losses, Franklin's loss in November of last year to former world title challenger and former Joshua opponent Dillian Whyte, established the previously unknown native of Saginaw, MI as a Heavyweight contender. It was in that fight where Franklin, who entered that bout unbeaten in twenty-one professional fights, dropped a twelve round majority decision to Whyte, but arguably came out of that fight looking more like a winner then Whyte did as there were several including yours truly who felt that Franklin deserved the decision. Perhaps, it was that consensus opinion as well as Franklin's performance in that fight where he seemingly outworked Whyte in a fight that was not the most entertaining to watch, which has resulted in him getting this chance against the former champion Joshua.

This will be Joshua's first fight and second connective fight with a new head trainer in his corner. After previously working with trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia for the rematch with Usyk, this time Joshua has enlisted trainer Derrick James to be his coach. James has trained several world champions, much like Garcia, including current undefeated IBF/WBA/WBC Welterweight world champion Errol Spence, among others. The obvious question that is asked whenever a new trainer takes over the reins of an established star in the sport is what new elements or wrinkles can that new trainer bring to the table in terms of hopefully helping improve and evolve that fighter's skillset.

In this case, I believe most would concede that even though Joshua fought a better fight the second time around against Usyk and that fight was closer than the first encounter, at no point in either fight did Joshua assert his naturally bigger size and strength on Usyk, who at that point was an undefeated former Undisputed Cruiserweight world champion, who also showed mixed returns in terms of his ability to handle Heavyweights in his previous Heavyweight bouts prior to facing Joshua. Whether it was a case of Joshua being under prepared in either of those fights or perhaps complacency in underestimating just how good and skillful Oleksandr Usyk is, I believe many would say that whatever the case was, it was the wrong strategy.

Many will of course remember that Joshua began his pro career with a string of quick knockouts. While that certainly helped him move up the ladder of contention quickly and eventually to a world title, a problem that many fighters that are able to have a similar rise up the ranks run into at some point is not having a Plan B when an opponent is prepared for and able to withstand their punching power. In Joshua's three losses, first to Andy Ruiz, then the two against Usyk, an argument can be made that not only did Joshua not have a Plan B, but he also did not recognize the need to adjust whatever plan he had in those fights when it became clear that his strategies were not working. The challenge for Derrick James is not only to find a way to reinstill Joshua's instincts as a power puncher, but also, giving him the mental aspects to recognize when a change of approach is needed, as well as a way to tactically implement it.

In terms of the opposition, Jermaine Franklin is still largely unknown from the standpoint that it is not known how he will respond to a fighter with Joshua's power. What can be said however, is he was able to withstand the best of what Dillian Whyte threw at him and in addition to seemingly being able to outwork him over the course of the fight, Franklin also proved to be durable. The question is whether or not that was a case of Franklin catching Whyte on an off night or more of a circumstance of Franklin not getting the benefit of exposure on television consistently prior to that fight that was the reason why he was able to turn in a performance that many did not expect.

Given what happened in that fight in Franklin coming out on the losing end of a decision many felt he deserved, it will also be interesting to see if Franklin approaches this fight a bit more aggressively in an effort to keep the outcome out of the hands of the three official judges. One should also keep in mind, despite Anthony Joshua's reputation as a "Knockout Artist," he has been caught, hurt, knocked down, and knocked out before. As such, even though Franklin has had limited exposure up to this point, the possibility certainly exists that Joshua can be caught and the beauty of Boxing is after all, "Anything Can Happen At Any Time." Whether Franklin, who has fourteen knockouts in his twenty-one career wins, has the power or the timing to be able to catch Joshua as Andy Ruiz was able to do when he knocked him out in their first fight in June 2019, remains to be seen.

While there is not much "Hype" at least from yours truly, beyond the simple quote that indeed anything can happen, which should not be viewed as "Hype" more than it should be taken as "Common Sense," promoter Eddie Hearn, who has prompted Joshua for his entire career, has started that if Joshua were to lose this fight, it might signal the end of his career. Although that should be taken in context as a promoter's primary job is after all, to generate as much interest as possible to both sell tickets as well as to hopefully, move the needle for lack of a better term for their broadcaster, in this case DAZN, I do not necessarily believe that should he lose this fight that Joshua would be finished as a fighter because he is one of the biggest stars in the sport, particularly in the United Kingdom where he has routinely drawn massive crowds in stadiums for his fights.

A loss however, would at minimum take Anthony Joshua out of the world championship picture for a period of time and it would be dishonest to say that the onus is not on Joshua in this fight and obviously with that, there is pressure. On the other side of the equation, much as was the car prior to his bout with Dillian Whyte, Jermaine Franklin has nothing to lose and everything to gain. No matter how well regarded a fighter might be, their stature in the sport, and how dominant they might be, the longer a fighter's career continues, the competition will get tougher with time and the possibility of a loss is always there. How Part 3: Chapter 1 in the story of the career of Anthony Joshua is ultimately written remains to be seen. 

"And That's The Boxing Truth."

Joshua vs. Franklin takes place on Saturday, April 1st at the O2 Arena in London, England. The bout as well as it's full undercard can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN beginning with The DAZN Boxing Show: Before The Bell, which will feature preliminary bouts beginning at 11:45AM ET/8:45AM PT. This will be followed by the main card, which will begin st 2PM ET/11AM PT.

(* U.S. Times Only*) 

(*Card and start times subject to change.*)

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Ruiz-Ortiz: Post-Thoughts And Analysis

In the weeks following undefeated unified IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk’s second victory over former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua, the man he took the title from last year, the dominant question has been what is next? Almost immediately after Usyk scored his second unanimous decision over Joshua, talk began of a potential fight with the on again, off again, retired, and un-retired undefeated WBC world champion Tyson Fury for a potential showdown between the two champions that would finally lead to one Undisputed World Heavyweight champion. 

While it remains uncertain whether that will indeed become a reality, the first significant Heavyweight bout to take place in the aftermath of Usyk’s rematch with Joshua occurred on September 4th at the legendary venue formerly known as the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, now known as Crypto.com Arena. Even though names of arenas and stadiums in modern times seem to change as quickly as those venues are built, the building has long been a hot spot for the sport of Boxing where many memorable battles have taken place over its two-decade history. On this occasion, the arena was filled with a sizable crowd to see former unified Heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz, the first man to defeat Anthony Joshua and former holder of the unified crown that Oleksandr Usyk now holds, and longtime top contender and former two-time world title challenger Luis Ortiz meet in a bout billed as an elimination bout for the World Boxing Council’s version of the World Heavyweight championship, currently held by Tyson Fury.

Although neither seemed to be in a position to garner a fight against either Fury or Usyk in the immediate future regardless of the outcome of this fight, as this observer said in previewing the bout, in some ways the bout between the two could amount to an audition to for lack of a better term, attempt to swoop into a world title fight if the potential unification bout between the two champions does not occur in the near future. It was a fight however, where both boxers had questions that surrounded them.

For the former world champion Andy Ruiz, the issue with him stemmed from inactivity having fought only once since his losing the unified Heavyweight crown back to Joshua in their December 2019 rematch. There also was the issue of Ruiz having put in a so, so performance against longtime contender and former world title challenger Chris Arreola, who was able to score a knockdown of Ruiz before losing a twelve round unanimous decision in March of last year. This was similar to Luis Ortiz, who came into this bout off of an impressive knockout win over former IBF Heavyweight world champion Charles Martin in January of this year, but appeared to show signs of possible decline as he was dropped twice by Martin before catching him in the fifth round and scoring the knockout victory. Although Ortiz ultimately did what he had to do in that fight, the question that surrounded him coming into this encounter was whether or not at forty-three years of age and having shown signs of having trouble keeping his balance in his fight with Martin was just how much did he have left in him to give as a fighter.

Given the styles of the two fighters that have an emphasis on offense, I did suspect that we would find out the answers to how much Ruiz’ inactivity would affect him as well as whether the wear and tear that tends to come along with a long career inside the Boxing ring as well as age would be an issue for Ortiz, rather quickly. As it would turn out, both men would bring elements of their best skills into this fight. Even though I felt that Ortiz would have the edge in terms of punching power, I did wonder how he would respond in the midst of exchanges of offense with Ruiz, who despite coming into the fight at nearly 270bs., and who has been heavy for most of his career, has exceptionally quick hands for a fighter his size. At minimum, I felt that the difference in hand speed between the two would appear early in the fight and test Ortiz’ balance that gave him trouble against Martin earlier this year. Initially, it was Ortiz’ power that became evident first as he rocked Ruiz with a solid straight left hand from the southpaw stance in the closing seconds of round one. 

Prior to that point, it was a bit surprising to see both fighters willing to stand in close range and willing to engage so early and to the eye of an objective observer, it seemed like Ruiz was getting the upper hand by a slight margin before he was tagged by the left hand of Ortiz. As he has done throughout his career, Ruiz showed the ability to take a punch and would respond in round two by dropping Ortiz in the second round with a flush counter right hook to the head.

In some ways, this reminded me of what happened to Ortiz early on in his fight against Charles Martin from the standpoint of the sudden nature of the way he was knocked down. Although the veteran did his best to milk the referee’s ten count before getting up at the count of nine, Ortiz was hurt and moments later would be knocked down for a second time by a follow-up barrage of punches by Ruiz. It was not clear, at least to this observer’s eyes, whether the second knockdown was a result of Ortiz being hurt by the punches that Ruiz was throwing, but I immediately began to wonder aloud whether this was more evidence of Ortiz potentially being a compromised fighter at this stage in his career. I also wondered if Ortiz was on the verge of being stopped.

To his credit, Ortiz used his veteran instincts and was able to survive the round and did manage to tag Ruiz with a few solid shots of his own in the process. Nevertheless, I did not think based on what I was seeing and based on what I had seen in covering Ortiz’ fight against Martin that the fight would last far beyond the second round. This was based on the balance issues Ortiz seemed to have as well as possible issues with his ability to take a punch, though in fairness to Luis Ortiz, the counter right hand that first sent him down was a case of a fighter in Ruiz using his hand speed and pinpoint timing to his advantage.

A testament to Luis Ortiz’ skillset and instincts were seen in rounds three through six where he was able to both slow the pace down and get himself into a rhythm. It was at this stage where the tempo of the combat was being controlled by the former world title challenger and this in addition to his ability to use angles to keep Ruiz on the outside and a solid jab appeared to get him right back into the fight, despite having two knockdowns against him. As is often the case in Boxing, just as it appears that the ebb and flow is shifting directions, something can happen to change the course of things. This would occur late in the seventh round when Ruiz would stun Ortiz with a right hand to the head and follow up with a right hook to the head that dropped Ortiz for the third time in the fight.

In the context of scoring, it is rare to think that a fighter who suffers three knockdowns over the course of a twelve round fight and probably lost a few rounds in between depending on one’s perspective, would still have a chance to win the fight on the scorecards. At this point in the fight, I felt Ortiz as usual, made a good account of himself, but because of the knockdowns, would need to either reverse roles and score a knockdown or two of Ruiz or outright knock him out to win the fight.

Unfortunately for Ortiz, that would not be the case. Despite being able to win rounds eight, ten, and the twelfth and final round on the official scorecards based largely on his ability to keep Ruiz at distance and seeming to out box him in those rounds, the three knockdowns proved to be the difference as Ruiz would earn a twelve round unanimous decision by a three point margin on two scorecards and a single point on the third.

Although the decision in this fight was the right one in my view and there was no controversy in terms of scoring, the narrow scores at the end of the bout are a reflection of both fighters skills and how both were able to have periods of success throughout the fight even though Luis Ortiz had three knockdowns working against him. The primary difference in my view in addition to the knockdowns came down to the advantage Andy Ruiz had in hand speed. It is indispensable however, that Luis Ortiz did have success and was able to win several rounds throughout the fight.

As for what comes next, this bout was billed as an elimination bout in the WBC’s Heavyweight ratings, but what this fight represented in reality was the first in an unofficial four-man tournament to determine the next mandatory challenger for the WBC crown currently held by Tyson Fury. This is because on October 15th former WBC Heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder will face longtime Heavyweight contender and former European Heavyweight champion Robert Helenius in a second WBC Heavyweight elimination bout.

While nothing is really set in stone in the sport of Boxing, this will likely set up Ruiz to face the winner of that fight in early 2023 at the earliest to then determine the next WBC mandatory challenger. Although this scenario is for the moment unofficial, given all four fighters, Ruiz, Ortiz, Wilder, and Helenius are aligned with the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters, the final elimination bout should be an easy one to make should this unofficial tournament play out as it appears to be drawn up.

With Luis Ortiz now back to the drawing board, Andy Ruiz now awaits the outcome of the Wilder-Helenius bout to see in all likelihood who will be his next opponent following his victory over Ortiz.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth. “

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

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Ruiz-Ortiz Weights From Los Angeles, CA

The official weigh-in for a rare Sunday night pay-per-view card headlined by former unified Heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz and longtime top. contender and former two-time world title challenger Luis Ortiz took place on Saturday in Los Angeles, CA. The bout, which will headline a Fox Sports Pay-Per-View card from the venue now known as Cryto.com Arena that can be seen on traditional cable/satellite providers as well as digital combat sports streaming network and pay-per-view platform FITE is also being billed as an elimination bout for the WBC World Heavyweight championship.

Although it is unclear as of this writing as to whether or not the winner of this fight will indeed be declared the next mandatory challenger by the World Boxing Council (WBC), the stakes are high for both fighters. The former champion Andy Ruiz weighed in at 268 3/4lbs. He will have a weight advantage of nearly twenty-four pounds over Ortiz, who weighed in at 245 1/2lbs. for the scheduled twelve round bout.

"Weights for undercard bouts on this card are unavailable as of this writing.*

Ruiz vs. Ortiz takes place on Sunday, September 4th at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. The fight can be seen on a pay-per-view basis in the United States on Fox Sports Pay-Per-View for $74.99 beginning at 9PMET/6PM PT. The bout as well as it’s undercard will be available through traditional cable/satellite providers as well as through streaming by the Fox Sports streaming app across mobile, tablet, and connect streaming devices/Smart TVs, as well as through digital combat sports streaming network and pay-per-view platform FITE.  

 

Contact your cable/satellite provider for ordering information.  

 

To order and stream via the Fox Sports app visit the Fox Sports app on your device of choice or visit: www.FoxSports.com/PPV to order. 

 

To order and stream on FITE visit the FITE app on your device of choice, visit: www.FITE.TV for ordering information or Click Here. 

*Check your local listings internationaly.*

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison  

 

Ruiz-Ortiz Preview

 

  

As the Boxing calendar moves in the month of September, Labor Day weekend here in the United States will be headlined by what some might call a “Crossroads Battle” in Boxing’s Heavyweight division. This observer is referring to the battle between former unified IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz and longtime Heavyweight contender and two-time Heavyweight world title challenger Luis Ortiz. A battle that will take place on Sunday, September 4th  at the historic Boxing venue in Los Angeles, CA now known as Crypto. Com Arena in the main event of a Fox Sports Pay-Per-View card here in the United States. 

 

It is a fight that takes place in the immediate aftermath of current undefeated unified Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk’s successful first title defense of the unified portion of the World Heavyweight championship Ruiz briefly held, in his rematch with former two-time Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia two nearly two weeks to the day of this encounter. Although Usyk by all accounts might be heading towards a unification bout with undefeated two-time Heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, current holder of the WBC world championship in the division, for what would be an Undisputed world championship bout, any bout that takes place in the division could amount to an audition of sorts to fight either champion either by facing the winner of the potential bout between Fury and Usyk or as a possible next opponent for either in the event that negotiations between the two hit a snag. The circumstances in which the division finds itself has added more importance to what would be an intriguing Heavyweight fight on its own. 

 

Time can at times move faster than it appears and it was not too long ago where Andy Ruiz was on top of the Boxing world after stopping Anthony Joshua in New York’s Madison Square Garden to win the Heavyweight championship in a fight he took on short notice. Some may say after winning the biggest fight of his life, Ruiz failed to take full advantage of his new found position as champion.  

 

Before discussing Andy Ruiz in more detail, we will begin by looking at his opponent Luis Ortiz. Ortiz as some will recall challenged for the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) version of the World Heavyweight championship twice in being stopped by then champion Deontay Wilder in both fights in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Those setbacks for Ortiz however, were arguably two of his best performances as he was seemingly in control of both fights before Wilder was able to catch him with power punches that lead to those defeats. 

 

Since his second loss to Wilder, Ortiz has gotten back into the ring twice and has scored knockout wins in both of those fights. It was his last outing against former IBF Heavyweight world champion Charles Martin on New Year's Day of this year that should have been a bit concerning if you are a fan of Luis Ortiz. 

 

For five rounds, the taller and longer Martin was able to use angles to not only evade much of what Ortiz had thrown, but to also throw punches at odd angles, which took advantage of an apparent difficulty Ortiz had in maintaining his balance, which in turn also resulted in Martin being able to score two knockdowns of Ortiz with a short left hook to the head in the first round and a perfectly timed jab in round four. 

 

While both knockdowns were what is often referred to as “Flash Knockdowns“ due to the suddenness in which they occurred a s Ortiz did not appear to be hurt by either knockdown, it did nevertheless create a scenario where he was at a significant deficit on the scorecards. Although for a significant portion of that fight Luis Ortiz did not appear to be his normal self, to his credit, he did respond in round six by scoring his own knockdown of Martin, but his knockdown came as a result of a flush left hook to the head. After Martin got up from that knockdown, Ortiz pressed forward with what can be described as an all-out assault of punches before sending Martin down to the canvas for a second time to force a stoppage of the bout. 

 

Although Luis Ortiz was ultimately able to pull off a come from behind knockout win, most objective observers would likely say that it was not one of his better performances. Some may go as far as to say that even though he got the victory, it was a fight that left more questions than answers. 

 

Coincidentally, Ortiz’ opponent on September 4th is also coming off of what some might call a so, so performance. After stopping Anthony Joshua in June 2019, a badly overweight and seemingly under prepared Ruiz was out boxed by Joshua in their December 2019 rematch in Saudi Arabia. In a span of six months Andy Ruiz had gone from being a world champion to former world champion. 

 

Following the loss of his title, Ruiz hired former trainer of the year Eddy Reynoso, dropped nearly thirty pounds from the 286lbs. he entered his rematch against Joshua carrying, into a bout against longtime Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola in March of last year. An entertaining bout from the opening bell, Ruiz was not given what some would associate as a typical “Comeback Fight” in his first bout since losing his title. Although the improvement in his conditioning was obvious under the guidance of Eddy Reynoso, Arreola was not interested in cooperating in the role of opponent for the former champion. 

 

Not only did Arreola knock Ruiz down with a flush hook to the head in the second round of that fight, he also forced the fight on Ruiz in what turned out to be a more competitive fight than perhaps some expected. In addition to the knockdown, Arreola was able to hurt Ruiz periodically throughout the fight and forced Ruiz to change tactics midway through the bout and implement a more tactical Boxing approach to earn a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision. While Ruiz did get the victory in that fight, it was not one of his best performances and that can perhaps be attributed to three factors. One he was inactive for over a year going into that fight, two, the addition of Eddy Reynoso in his corner, which there is almost always an adjustment period whenever a new trainer begins working with a seasoned fighter, and finally, three the significant drop in weight from when he lost the title back to Joshua over a year earlier. 

 

Although the issue regarding Ruiz’ inactivity can be explained in part by the circumstances of the global COVID-19 epidemic as much of the year 2020 was one that saw many notable fighters sitting on the sidelines for both health as well as financial reasons as much of the events that took place during that year were held behind closed doors in fanless environments, which in turn meat that some fighters would make less money to compete under those conditions than others, an argument could be made that while he was able to get himself in good shape going into the Arreola fight, the inactivity did hurt Ruiz. What can also not be overlooked is Ruiz has not fought since he defeated Arreola and while that could be viewed as a good thing from the standpoint of allowing him to continue to improve his physical conditioning, as well as continuing to gel with Eddy Reynoso, the issue of his activity or lack thereof will once again be an issue going into this fight against Luis Ortiz. 

 

What this fight boils down to in my eyes is what versions of the respective fighters will show up in this fight. At his best, Luis Ortiz is a devastating puncher that is capable of ending a fight with one punch or as was the case against Charles Martin, a brutal sudden barrage of punches. Ortiz is however forty-two years old, and it appeared obvious at least to this observer’s eyes that he was somewhat compromised by issues with balance against Martin. Whether or not that was a result of injuries or the result of wear and tear starting to catch up with a veteran of the sport remains to be seen. 

 

While Ortiz likely has the edge in terms of punching power going into this fight, Ruiz has the edge in hand speed and is capable of catching opponents with quick combinations in the midst of exchanges of punches that the opponent will not be prepared for as they are thrown. Even though this worked to great effect for him against Chris Arreola, particularly when he made the decision to box later in the fight, Ruiz must also keep in mind that though he has shown he can hold his own going toe to toe with opponents, he was also caught more than occasionally by Arreola throughout the fight and was knocked down. Luis Ortiz could well hit harder than Arreola and with that in mind, Ruiz should proceed with caution even if it may appear that he is having success early in the fight and may even be dominating the combat. 

 

Although neither Ruiz or Ortiz would appear to be in a position to secure another shot at a world title no matter the outcome of this fight, anything can happen in the sport of Boxing and that is especially true in regard to the Heavyweight division. One should also keep in mind as this fight approaches that the division is extremely competitive and even with a loss, neither fighter will likely be dismissed as a potential challenger. With other contenders including the soon to return former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder all looking to provide the best argument possible as to why they should get a shot at either Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury, we will see what argument Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz are able to make as they face each other. 

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.” 

 

Ruiz vs. Ortiz takes place on Sunday, September 4th at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. The fight can be seen on a pay-per-view basis in the United States on Fox Sports Pay-Per-View for $74.99 beginning at 9PMET/6PM PT. The bout as well as it’s undercard will be available through traditional cable/satellite providers as well as through streaming by the Fox Sports streaming app across mobile, tablet, and connect streaming devices/Smart TVs, as well as through digital combat sports streaming network and pay-per-view platform FITE.  

 

Contact your cable/satellite provider for ordering information.  

 

To order and stream via the Fox Sports app visit the Fox Sports app on your device of choice or visit: www.FoxSports.com/PPV to order. 

 

To order and stream on FITE visit the FITE app on your device of choice, visit: www.FITE.TV for ordering information or Click Here. 

 

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