You know a promotion has fallen off the rails when an A-side “superstar” has to spend much of the lead-up time to the fight selling his opponent’s legitimacy.
On June 1, three-belt world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua will be facing once-defeated Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’ll be Joshua’s US debut, but instead of riding into America as a conquering hero, the big Brit, who has been touted repeatedly as the next big thing in boxing and as a transcendent mainstream crossover talent, is coming in, hat in hands and justifications on lips.
“It's not about what you look like, it's a craft, a skill, and what's in your heart and your head matters in the end,” Joshua recently told media, referring to Ruiz’s flabby physique. “Andy has shown he has all that, he can fight and box, that’s what matters. I think Andy is a great challenger and will bring it on June 1.
“All I’ve heard is ‘AJ will smash him in a round’. From the outside they think that anyone can box, so how is the guy that doesn't look like a fighter able to box?
“…He's keen, he's game and you cannot knock him. He can fight and he's got hands. He gave a World Champion in Joseph Parker lots of problems, and when you look at the fight the Parker gave Whyte when people are saying Whyte can beat Wilder, Fury and me, Andy is championship level for sure, and I have not underestimated him one bit.”
Ruiz is a substitute for original opponent Jarrell Miller, who was denied a license by the New York State Athletic Commission after reportedly testing positive for three separate banned substances, and he isn’t a “bad” replacement.
Just this past April, he stopped Russian giant Alexander Dimitrenko in five rounds and back in December of 2016 lost a razor-thin majority decision on the road to then-WBO titlist Joseph Parker in Parker’s native New Zealand.
The 29-year-old from Imperial, California is a good, solid fighter with good skills and a decent resume. The back story of him trying to become the first heavyweight champ of Mexican descent is also a pretty decent angle to push for promotion. Ruiz is no less deserving of this big opportunity than Dominic Breazeale was when awarded his shot against Deontay Wilder or Tom Scwarz, who got the call to face Tyson Fury. The problem is his appearance and the optics of having his 6-foot-2, gooey, 260+ lb. body placed alongside Joshua’s 6-foot-6 chiseled physique when Joshua is already a heavy betting favorite.
From the outside looking in, it’s going to look like an elite athlete being set to face a part-timer, someone who, maybe, might hold a job at a supermarket or on a garbage truck between fights. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. But optics matter in boxing, a sport where most tuning in are not avid followers and a twice-a-year performance schedule from the top fighters create the need to impress every time out. If/When Joshua beats down and knocks out Ruiz, the mainstream is most likely to play it down as a stud beating up a “fat guy,” rather than a stud beating up an overmatched, but otherwise respectable fringe top 10 contender.
None of this is to suggest that Ruiz should be buried on undercards and kept away from well-earned opportunities just because of his physical appearance. He definitely deserves his shots at playing on the main stage. But why in the world would Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn choose Ruiz for this upcoming must-make-a-big-impression fight? It seems that Hearn has set up a bit of lose-lose for his fighter with this move.
Even if Joshua blows Ruiz away, it’ll look like a pit bull mauling a baby seal to most. And if Joshua struggles at all en route to a win, it’ll look bad to see him being stymied by someone who just doesn’t look like an elite-level athlete.
No, it’s not fair to rain on Ruiz’s parade like this, but who said life—especially boxing life—was fair?
This showcase for Anthony Joshua may turn out to be more of a showcase for how NOT to make a good first impression.