Forbes quoting Chris McKenna of Daily Star Sports, on purses for the big fight. US$60,000,000. Joshua. US$9,000,000. Ruiz.
Well, his management need shooting as they obviously didnt have faith that their man could possibly win.
In the lead up to the first bout, Ruiz and his management were up against it with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. Ruiz was a late replacement for the bout because Big Baby Miller pissed dirty. If they wanted the fight, they had to agree to Matchroom's conditions. They had next to no say in negotiations. It was a matter of take what we offer, or someone else gets the shot. And the conditions were all locked in for a possible second bout, before the first fight. Matchroom held all the aces. It'll be a different story next time though if Ruiz wins again.
If Ruiz wins again AJ will want even more to face him again. Most people, including the bookies, think AJ will win. But I can't get away from the fact that Ruiz has only been decked once and that was very briefly by AJ. This has to be a concern for AJ
Interesting (conflicting?) odds here should the fights ever materialise. Do these odds apply to whenever they next meet?
I think it probably only applies to the fight on the weekend. And the 5 bets worth 5 pound each have to be used in the following 4 days.
That's a bit confusing. The image I put up with that post got left behind. It was a series of various fight odds I was referring to Cyc. Sorry about that. I'll see if they are still there
The weigh-in shocker. The weights for the Ruiz - Joshua were a real eye opener. From day one, news from the Joshua camp was that AJ would be coming in lighter than the first fight, they were true to their word. The former champion has shed almost 11 pounds. He tipped the scales at 237 pounds and looked the goods. The lead up news from the Ruiz camp though was along the lines that the champ would like to weigh somewhere around the 250 to 255 mark. He weighed a staggering 283 pounds, up better than a stone their from previous clash. Ruiz's trainer Manny Robles is on record stating that the champ dragged his feet when it came to starting his camp for this fight. Speculation before his training began was that Andy was enjoying life too much, it now appears that there might be substance to the claims. The fight becomes even more interesting now. I can't wait.
It was a fascinating weigh in Cyc and as you say so intriguing now to see how it plays out. It seems clear from the AJ point of view that this is about being lighter on his feet and more agile than last time out. Will that affect his power? We will see- it doesn’t hurt Wilder to come in low and perhaps speed is the key weapon against Ruiz. We all thought Ruiz has slimmed down from the build up so the weigh in shocked many of us. However, having reflected on it now, I actually wonder if it’s just because he’s added muscle?No disrespect but he was on the plump side last time whereas this time he just looks a more solid beast- I don’t think him weighing 20st will make him an worse- it will be interesting to see how conditioning plays out if this does start to reach the “championship rounds”. Ruiz will be very dangerous early on and you would expect Joshua to perhaps stay behind a jab and out of range early on, however instinctively he has always loved to fight and it’s hard to coach that out of someone. Hope AJ produces a career best but a dangerous fight once again- may the best man win and both come out of the ring safely.
I have a feeling that this fight is going to be somewhat of an anti climax. Ruiz to come out firing early hoping to catch Joshua. Joshua to take advantage and finish it early. Joshua to win rounds 1-3 is 8/1 and looks the bet for me. A load of piss poor heavyweights stack out the undercard with Hunter/Povetkin looking the only one of minor interest.
I think it might be a bit of a dance early on. Ruiz a bit cautious but on the front foot, with Joshua jabbing from the outside. It might take a few rounds to warm up. Maybe.
I think this will depend on how much pudding Ruiz has been eating. Provided he hasn't slowed himself down I would expect him to be all over Joshua from the bell and hope to catch him with at least one to shake up Joshua. If he succeeds than Joshua will find himself in trouble again. If Joshua can keep out of his way he wins on points. But keeping out of his way for 12 rounds won't be easy. The only chance of Joshua winning will be a boring draw or Ruiz comes in unfit (stone overweight) and isn't as durable as he has been. The first clean punch from Joshua will tell us what's going to happen