In June 2019, Andy Ruiz challenged heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, for all the marbles. ‘The Destroyer’ stepped into this fight a tough contender; however, no one ever saw him as a real threat to the division’s unified champion. However, the underdog, Andy Ruiz, proved everyone wrong and pulled off an upset for the ages.
Andy Ruiz outboxed and stopped the heavyweight champion in round 7. This could be considered one of the greatest upsets of all time. With this iconic win over the Englishman, Ruiz became the first-ever Mexican fighter to be crowned heavyweight champion.
In the post-fight interview, the newly crowned heavyweight champion expressed his joy over making history. He shared that he was proud to be the first from his homeland to win the throne.
“I just feel so good, man! I just made history, baby, for Mexico!” said Ruiz.
On the other hand, Anthony Joshua seemed visibly disappointed and took his defeat like a true champion.
“It’s no excuses, it’s my own fault,” said Joshua.
Andy Ruiz Jr. dominated Anthony Joshua
Right from the get-go, ‘The Destroyer’ established his dominance inside the ring. Anthony Joshua showcased a straightforward approach throughout the fight. He tried to use his jab to create and maintain distance; however, Ruiz was able to cut through that distance with his movement and by creating angles.
They started off slow, both trying to find openings and trying to assess each others’ game plans. Anthony Joshua made the first big move by dropping Ruiz with a sharp left hook. The crowds cheered on as the Englishman secured a knockdown. However, this did not throw the Mexican fighter off his game.
He got right back up and landed a big left hand on his opponent’s temple. This dropped AJ and visibly shook him up. Joshua seemed worn out after the knockdown and fought along the ropes. Ruiz picked up on this and knocked him down yet again with a straight right hand.
When it seemed like Joshua was beginning to regain his strength and composure, Ruiz closed the night with two more knockdowns in round 7. Anthony Joshua had never been challenged like that and Andy Ruiz straight-up dominated him in all seven rounds.
Official Results and Scorecards
After seven rounds of action, Andy Ruiz bagged a victory by TKO over the heavyweight champion. The judge’s official scorecards showed that the Mexican contender led the fight all along.
Judges Michael Alexander and Julie Lederman scored the fight 57-56 in favor of Andy Ruiz up until round 6, before he finished him in the seventh.
However, judge Pasquale Procopio scored in favor of Anthony Joshua. This differed from the scores allotted by the other two judges.
BoxingScene also scored the fight 55-58 in favor of the Mexican contender.
Read More: Anthony Joshua Height: Is He Taller Than Tyson Fury?
According to Procopio, Ruiz had only won the third — by a score of 10-8 following the two knockdowns for AJ — and sixth.
PPV Buys and Fighter Purses
The first Andy Ruiz vs Anthony Joshua fight sold 403,000 pay-per-view buys in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Box Office.
However, this fight did not perform nearly as well because of illegal streaming. This boxing match set an online viewership piracy record. Over 13 million viewers watched this bout on illegal live streams. YouTube hosted 93% of the illegal streams.
Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz – Who earned more?
Despite causing one of the greatest upsets of all time, Andy Ruiz reportedly bagged just £5 million as a net payout from the bout inside Madison Square Garden in New York.
On the other hand, Anthony Joshua is said to have earned around £20 million on the same night. This difference could have emerged as a result of Ruiz taking this fight on short notice (5 weeks) as Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller was suspended after failing three drug tests.
Also Read: Tyson Fury Predicts “Awkward” Fight Between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk
The post Who Won Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 1?: Results, Scorecards, Purses, Full Fight, and PPV Buys appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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