Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr – AJ issues terrifying vow to Mexican ahead of Madison Square Garden showdown
ANTHONY JOSHUA has vowed to break Andy Ruiz Jr’s jaw after his challenger called him a “robot”.
The WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion defends his belts against the American at Madison Square Garden in New York.
And he has promised to “f*** him up” for his trash talking ahead of the bout in the Big Apple.
Joshua, 29, told Boxing News: “I heard him say that! I’m going to smack him up now!
“It’s like in the [Alexander] Povetkin fight [in September last year]. When he hit me, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to f*** you up now.’ Because he didn’t speak English, he didn’t trash-talk too much before the fight, so I respected him. But when you’re in there, you take the fight as it comes.”
And AJ has issued a warning about what will happen to the Mexican, who is a replacement for Jarrell Miller, if he continues to run his mouth ahead of his big US pay-per-view bow.
‘HURT HIM BAD’
“Miller was going to get peppered – straight up. If Ruiz wants to go down that route of talking sh** too, then I’m gonna want to break his jaw and hurt him really bad.
“But if he wants a good boxing match and he gets hit with a shot he didn’t see, and we shake hands after, then it’s best not to say anything.”
Joshua added: “Like [Wladimir] Klitschko and Povetkin, I come from that amateur background where you fight the best and respect the best.
“Miller comes more from that gritty gym background where it’s all trash talk. You’ve got to talk and talk. In amateur boxing, it doesn’t really matter what you say. The medals, the accolades, the fights show what you’re about.“Look at [Vasyl] Lomachenko. He doesn’t have to say too much. You just respect him as a fighter and that’s the background I was introduced to. I like that.
“And Klitschko was the same – an Olympian. Povetkin is the same, too. I’m more down that route and those are the kind of fighters I respect.”
Joshua has been criticised for his choice of opponent for his first match Stateside.
Boxing fans are desperate to see him battle WBC king Deontay Wiler or fight fellow Englishman Tyson Fury.
But AJ has defended his decision to face Ruiz and insists his foe is a dangerous fighter who he will not be taking lightly.
He explained: “It’s his look, they’re just going by his look. Put a six-pack on Ruiz and some pecs, then they’ll say he’s OK. Then they’ll say he’s a future world champion. That’s how it goes.
“You could put 15 bodybuilders in the ring, but it doesn’t mean they’ll be champions just because they look good. It’s what’s inside you that matters.
“He has the mentality and the heart. If it’s all about aesthetics, you might as well go to a bodybuilding gym and pick one out and say, ‘We’ve got the next world champion on our hands.’ It’s not about that.
“Ruiz works hard. He’s dedicated. He’s had 30-odd fights. He’s done it time and time again and this is his chance to prove to the world that he’s a force to be reckoned with.”
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Joshua added: “He works the body early with a stabbing jab, it slows you down when you get hit to the body early. I think he has a very good punch selection – doesn’t waste shots.
“I haven’t seen him get tired in a fight yet either, so I think he has a one-track mind when he’s fighting. He doesn’t waste too much energy in the ring. When you hop, it takes a lot of energy.
“He stalks you down and has a good guard. He’s got a one-track mind to pick that shot which will do some damage.”