After a dominant performance against Otto Wallin this month, Anthony Joshua is being advised to “fight somebody who wants to win.” In his third and final fight of 2023 on the Day of Reckoning card, Joshua swiftly overcame Wallin. By the end of the first five rounds, Joshua had inflicted significant damage on Wallin without receiving any notable shots in return. The corner of the Swede ultimately decided to withdraw him from the fight.
Despite Anthony Joshua’s dominant performance, former opponent Andy Ruiz Jr remains unimpressed. The one-time unified champion, who faced Joshua twice, winning the first encounter with a significant upset knockout at Madison Square Garden in June 2019 and then losing the belts in a 12-round bout in December of the same year, shared his thoughts on Joshua’s latest fight. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Ruiz Jr asserted that Joshua’s opponent did not truly come to win.
“Well, there’s nothing much to make of it. Joshua did what he had to do. The opponent lacked skills. I feel he didn’t have a solid game plan to fight Anthony Joshua, and when facing Joshua, you need a strategic approach.
“I wish the opponent had more skills, someone who truly wanted to win the fight, someone willing to throw punches, like me. I wish it had been me fighting him. Hopefully, we can have the trilogy, but if not, he’ll probably pursue another path.”
When asked to confirm if he would like to face Joshua for a third time, Andy Ruiz Jr responded, “Of course, if not, there’s always Joseph Parker.” Ruiz hinted at the possibility of a rematch with Parker, and among all the potential opponents for Parker, a bout with Ruiz appears to be a notable and intriguing option, considering their previous 2016 world title fight, in which Parker emerged victorious.