Who Won Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 1?: Results, Scorecards, Purses, Full Fight, and PPV Buys
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 01: Anthony Joshua(white trunks) and Andy Ruiz Jr fight during their IBF/WBA/WBO World heavyweight championship match at Madison Square Garden on June 1st, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Anthony Geathers/Getty Images)
In June 2019, Andy Ruiz Jr challenged heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, for all the marbles. Although ‘The Destroyer’ stepped into this fight as a tough contender, no one ever saw him as a real threat to the division’s unified champion. However, the underdog, Andy Ruiz Jr, proved everyone wrong and pulled off an upset for the ages.
Andy Ruiz Jr outboxed and stopped the heavyweight champion in round 7. This could be considered one of the greatest upsets of all time. With this iconic win over the Englishman, Ruiz Jr became the first-ever Mexican fighter to be crowned heavyweight champion.
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In the post-fight interview, the newly crowned heavyweight champion expressed his joy over making history. He said, “I just feel so good, man! I just made history, baby- for Mexico!”
On the other hand, Anthony Joshua seemed visibly disappointed and took his defeat like a true champion.
“It’s no excuses, it’s my own fault,” said Joshua.
Andy Ruiz Jr. dominated Anthony Joshua
Right from the get-go, ‘The Destroyer’ established his dominance inside the ring. Anthony Joshua showcased a straightforward approach throughout the fight. He tried to use his jab to create and maintain distance; however, Ruiz Jr was able to cut through that distance with his movement and by creating angles.
They started off slowly, both trying to find openings and trying to assess each other’s game plans. Anthony Joshua made the first big move by dropping Ruiz Jr with a sharp left hook. The crowds cheered on as the Englishman secured a knockdown. However, this did not throw the Mexican fighter off his game.
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He got right back up and landed a big left hand on his opponent’s temple. This dropped AJ and visibly shook him up. Joshua seemed worn out after the knockdown and fought along the ropes. Ruiz Jr picked up on this and knocked him down yet again with a straight right hand.
When it seemed like Joshua was beginning to regain his strength and composure, Ruiz Jr closed the night with two more knockdowns in round 7. Anthony Joshua had never been challenged like that, and Andy Ruiz straight-up dominated him in all seven rounds.
Official Results and Scorecards
After seven rounds of action, Andy Ruiz Jr bagged a victory by TKO over the heavyweight champion. The judge’s official scorecards showed that the Mexican contender led the fight all along.
Judges Michael Alexander and Julie Lederman scored the fight 57-56 in favor of Andy Ruiz Jr up until round 6, before he finished him in the seventh.
However, judge Pasquale Procopio scored in favor of Anthony Joshua. This differed from the scores allotted by the other two judges.
BoxingScene also scored the fight 55-58 in favor of the Mexican contender.
According to Procopio, Ruiz had only won the third — by a score of 10-8 following the two knockdowns for AJ — and sixth.
PPV Buys and Fighter Purses
The first Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua fight sold 403,000 pay-per-view buys in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Box Office.
However, this fight did not perform nearly as well because of illegal streaming. This boxing match set an online viewership piracy record. Over 13 million viewers watched this bout on illegal live streams.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz – Who earned more?
Despite causing one of the greatest upsets of all time, Andy Ruiz reportedly bagged just £5 million as a net payout from the bout inside Madison Square Garden in New York.
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On the other hand, Anthony Joshua is said to have earned around £20 million on the same night. This difference could have emerged as a result of Ruiz Jr taking this fight on short notice (5 weeks) as Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller was suspended after failing three drug tests.
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