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“I Was Willing to Die in the Ring” – Andy Ruiz Jr. Recalls Being Dropped for the First Time by Anthony Joshua

Published 04/26/2021, 5:00 PM EDT

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Andy Ruiz Jr. made history by becoming the first-ever Mexican heavyweight champion as he took out Anthony Joshua via TKO in their maiden collision in June 2019. However, it wasn’t an undemanding task. Being the first and only man to defeat Joshua, Ruiz Jr. dealt with extreme prowess coming from the other end.

Unified champion Anthony Joshua entered the ring as the favorite and predictably dominated the fight in the early stage. He even secured a knockdown over Ruiz Jr, advancing himself in the judge’s scorecard. While dropping his opposition was quite common for Anthony Joshua, Ruiz Jr, was stunned after getting dropped for the first time.

‘The Destroyer’ connected with the fans via PBC’s YouTube channel and revealed his mindset, while going through the fight.

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“It’s like a blink of an eye, Boom and I am on the floor and I have never been dropped in my whole life. I kept my composure, I was still hungry, I wasn’t gonna give up. I was willing to die in the ring. So, I just continue to fight,” said Andy Ruiz Jr.

“It Still Haunts Me” – Andy Ruiz Jr. Not Over His Loss to Anthony Joshua

As Ruiz Jr. regained his stance and continued the fight, the world was about to see a stunner. Being the heavy-handed puncher, the Mexican needed to connect a few shots and fortunately, he was able to do so.

While Ruiz Jr. planted his fist on ‘AJ’, the champion wobbled and was forced to take a knee. It shocked the entire world as none of the fans expected to see Joshua go down. While Joshua tried to maintain his composure, Ruiz Jr. planted more bombs and claimed the win in the seventh round.

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What’s next for Andy Ruiz Jr.?

Unfortunately, Ruiz Jr. lost the titles in a rematch against Anthony Joshua in the same year. Following the loss, he changed his training camp and his current at Eddy Reynoso’s stable alongside several more legendary boxers.

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He has shredded a lot of weight and looks prominent ahead of a massive return against Chris Arreola on May 1. On bagging a win, Andy Ruiz Jr. will once again be relevant in the championship picture and can rightfully bag a trilogy clash against Joshua somewhere down the line.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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