Andy Ruiz Jr will be a man on a mission when he steps into the ring this December for his rematch against Anthony Joshua.
The heavyweight rivals are slated to meet again on December 7’s Clash Of The Dunes in Saudi Arabia, with Ruiz Jr looking to duplicate the upset he pulled off in their first meeting.
‘The Destroyer’ dealt Joshua the first loss of his career last June. He dropped the Briton four times en route to a seventh round technical knockout victory.
Despite being the underdog, Ruiz Jr defied the odds and delivered one of the biggest upsets in boxing to date.
Much is at stake in their highly-anticipated rematch as the heavyweight titles as well as one of the their careers are on the line.
This is why Ruiz Jr is doing everything on his power to score another win against Joshua and eventually send his boxing career to its unfortunate demise.
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Two Straight Defeats
Ahead of the rematch, Ruiz Jr and Joshua faced each other in a battle of words at Sky Sports’ Gloves Are Off Show.
Asked about his plans to end AJ’s career in their rematch, ‘The Destroyer’ did not hold back and said he intends to do so.
“I have to. I have to, right? He’s trying to take my career as well. It’s either me or him inside the ring. I will and I am,” he stated, (transcript from Talk Sport).
Fellow heavyweight Tyson Fury said the same thing about Joshua if Ruiz Jr. manages to secure another win.
“If he gets knocked out twice in a row, I can’t see him continuing to be fair,” the lineal heavyweight champ told True Geordie Podcast.
“Every man does what he wants to do but I think – he doesn’t need the money and two knockout losses is a shattering to your career.”
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‘He Quit’
Host Johnny Nelson also asked the unified heavyweight champion of his opinion about fans’ claim that AJ quit in their first fight.
“A little bit. I feel he quit because of the way that it was won,” Ruiz Jr shared.
“I think he was still out of it, I didn’t think he knew where he was at that moment. I think that he quit.”
To which AJ responded, “The referee waved off the fight. It’s just opinion, innit. I roll with it, I ride with it, I’m a champion through and through, no matter what anyone says to me.”
“The conclusion is, ‘I quit,’ but I feel like why wouldn’t I have stayed though?”
“Why wouldn’t I have stayed though? He hit me with a shot I couldn’t recover from and I still stuck in there.”
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(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua)