Twitter had so many jokes about Andy Ruiz Jr. beating Anthony Joshua
The jokes were there to be made and the people did not disappoint.
A boxer named Andy Ruiz Jr. beat Anthony Joshua Saturday night to take all three of his heavyweight titles. This is remarkable news, since Ruiz Jr. was a late fill-in, supposed to serve as nothing more than a showcase for Joshua’s rising star. This fight was meant to build hype for what has traditionally been boxing’s marquee weight class — which has been lacking star power and intrigue in recent years.
Now, though, there’s a boxer that fans can get behind. It’s not Joshua, a picture-perfect example of what the heavyweight champ of the world is supposed to look like, equally chiseled and graceful. No.
It’s this guy.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
This is the guy you see mixing it up at your favorite beach-side bar after too many cheap beers on Memorial Day, and you fully expect him to get whooped by the smaller guy he’s picking on. He looks like a man who thinks he can fight but actually can’t.
But Saturday night Ruiz proved he could, pummeling Joshua into a seventh-round TKO. It shouldn’t have been a huge surprise for those paying some attention, as Ruiz is now 34-1 as a professional and was 105-5 as an amateur. He’s not actually a nobody. But he was at +1200, meaning anyone who bet on him will earn $1,200 for every $100 spent. Those are loooong odds.
Twitter, of course, is loving it.
It’s easy — and completely OK! — to spout all the snark after an event like this. Sports should be fun, and it’s fun to see an underdog win … especially one that looks like he shouldn’t have any sort of chance.
Ruiz Jr.’s win is a triumph, though, for a man who was representing himself not that long ago and struggled to make enough to get by. He’s the first Mexican heavyweight champion in history, too.
As for Joshua, he handled it with unimaginable class: