Anthony Joshua Lost his Titles Against Andy Ruiz Jr.

One of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing took place at the Madison Square Garden last night. Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) snapped the title away from Anthony Joshua, knocking out the UK fighter in round 7 of their encounter.

A guy who wasn’t even planned to fight with the champion became one.

And things didn’t look good for the Mexican in the third round when Joshua (22-1, 21KOs) unleashed a quick and powerful combination which sent him on the floor. It indicated another KO win for the Brit who was confident at the time.

But the shock arrived almost instantly. Ruiz responded, and the champ was on the canvas. The crowd at the MSG went wild as they smelled the blood in the air.

Ruiz spoke about those moments, saying that once he fell down, some strange motivation for revenge overwhelmed him.

“I just had to knock him down back,” he said. “I took his power, because of the Mexican warrior I am. I have that Mexican blood in me.”

And it was really like that. Until the end of that round, Joshua was once more on the ground. The champion was shaken, without breath, and heavily disturbed.

The fighters were a bit calmer in the next three rounds, mostly because they realized that this was, in fact, an even fight, and neither of them was willing to risk anything. When round 7 started, things changed. Both Ruiz and Joshua went for it and opened their guards, and they were even until Ruiz landed several big-time hits on the champ who had to face the counting again. Joshua successfully overcame that, but he wasn’t able to do the same with the next one.

The judge in the ring, Michael Griffin stopped the match, and a massive celebration in Ruiz’s corner began. He became the first Mexican ever to win a heavyweight title, saying that he finally accomplished a life-long dream.

“I just made history for Mexico. This is what I have been dreaming about since I was 6 years old,” Ruiz said.

On the other side, Joshua was a bit disappointed that Griffin stopped the action, saying that he had enough power to continue.

“I am never one of those fighters to disrespect a referee like he should have done this or he should have done that. He called it off when he thought I couldn’t fight. It’s a shame.”

Judging by his body language, many doubt that AJ had the strength to continue the battle. He was often slow, and without the speed to avoid punches, and what is more important, he looked like a fighter who is dealing with a lot of issues, not a champion.

His first battle outside the UK ended badly for him, and doubts about his real power are only bigger. Deontay Wilder already started calling Joshua through the social networks, and we can only imagine what will Tyson Fury’s reaction be like.

Meanwhile, the former champ, congratulated Ruiz adding that something like this is good for the boxing.

“Heavyweight boxing, baby. Thank you to the people who came out this evening. That’s No. 1,” Joshua said. “Heavyweight boxing is on fire.

Joshua also stated that he has a rematch guaranteed by the contract with Ruiz, and that he doesn’t plan on skipping it. According to some sources, that event will take place in the UK at the end of this year.

As for Ruiz, he was the second substitute for this clash. Joshua was supposed to fight Jarrell Miller, but the American failed anti-doping tests. Luis Ortiz ruled out the possibility to step in, and then the name of Andy Ruiz came out.

It will be interesting how things develop in the world of heavyweight boxing. We now have three guys aiming the throne, Wilder, Joshua, and Fury, but some unpredictable factors like Ruiz could easily disturb every projection.