Andy Ruiz Believes Anthony Joshua Is Gunshy And Needs Confidence

Andy Ruiz believes Anthony Joshua is too gunshy and isn’t confident in himself.

Ruiz stunned the world when he knocked out Joshua at Madison Square Garden in June of 2019. Joshua knocked down Ruiz in the third but got dropped himself twice in that round as well. He ended up getting dropped twice more in the seventh and the fight was stopped. Although Joshua controlled the rematch to win back his belts he most recently lost to Oleksandr Usyk.

Now, Andy Ruiz believes Anthony Joshua isn’t the same fighter since he defeated him back in 2019. He thinks the Englishman is too gunshy and isn’t confident in himself anymore.

“I wouldn’t want to destroy anybody’s career at all, but I can see him being gunshy and hesitating a little bit, and I can see him getting hurt,” Ruiz told The Last Stand with Brian Custer (via Boxingscene). “Maybe he’s a little scared of getting hurt because he doesn’t want the same thing happening. It’s normal for fighters, and I think he needs to get his confidence back. No, I wouldn’t say I ruined him. I wouldn’t want to ruin anybody’s career … He is hesitating. He’s thinking too much instead of going in there and being the dog that [he is].”

Although Joshua dominated Ruiz in the rematch, the Mexican believes had he prepared properly he would’ve won the fight with ease.

“He won the rematch against me because I didn’t do my part. That’s the only reason,” said Ruiz. “If I had stuck to the game plan and did the same thing that I did in the first fight, trust me, I would have beat him. But I had to learn the hard way. I had to get back on the ladder and get back on top, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I just hope Anthony Joshua overcomes this and he becomes champion again so I can take those belts back.”

What do you make of Andy Ruiz’s comments about Anthony Joshua?