Anthony Joshua is ‘done’ if he loses Andy Ruiz Jr rematch, insists Joy Joyce
ANTHONY JOSHUA will be ‘done’ if he loses his immediate rematch with Andy Ruiz. That is according to his former amateur team-mate Joe Joyce, the professional boxer who has spent more time in the ring with Joshua than any other. Joyce was stunned when his old sparring partner hit the deck four times before his […]
ANTHONY JOSHUA will be ‘done’ if he loses his immediate rematch with Andy Ruiz.
That is according to his former amateur team-mate Joe Joyce, the professional boxer who has spent more time in the ring with Joshua than any other.
Joyce was stunned when his old sparring partner hit the deck four times before his unforgettable clash with Ruiz was officially waved off by referee Mike Griffin in the seventh round.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has since revealed that Joshua has decided to trigger the immediate rematch clause in their fight contract with the pair set to collide again in either November or December.
But Joyce, 9-0, has warned his old gym buddy that his career could be over after just 23 fights if the new WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champ Ruiz does a number on him again.
Joyce said: “He’s got to be careful.
“Remember when David Price rematched Tony Thompson straight away and he mgot knocked out – his stock dropped so much it became non-existent.
LAST CHANCE SALOON
“Maybe he could have a fight in between, a warm-up fight.
“But if he loses the rematch he’s done isn’t he?”
With the dust settling on the shock of Saturday’s fight, questions have now been asked of Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken.
Even former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has told AJ to sack ‘third grade teacher’ McCracken in favour of a boxing ‘professor’.
Joyce spent years working under McCracken during his time on the Team GB squad, which ended with a silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
And the 33-year-old ‘Juggernaut’ reckons Joshua might benefit from a change after working for so long under the same coach.
Joyce, who faces Bryant Jennings at the o2 Arena on July 13, has already spent time with Ismael Salas, Abel Sanchez and now Adam Booth during his short pro career.
CHANGE IT UP
He said: “I have a lot of respect for Robert McCracken and he’s done amazing work in the GB set-up and I’ve looked up to him when I was on the squad.
“But personally for me, technically, I learned all my stuff when I was on the GB squad so I thought it was time to move on and go to a different trainer and pick up more stuff.
“It is different – amateur boxing and professional boxing.
“Maybe a new coach would teach Joshua new things and take him to another level. That’s what Joshua is hinting at in the corner when he’s asking ‘what do I do?’ We will have to see.
“Going in, I thought Joshua looked a bit odd anyway, he was chewing on his gumshield and stuff. I don’t know if there was something up with him.
“I thought it was a bit novicey the way he was leaning on the ropes with his arms on the ropes, that stops your breathing. I don’t know what was going on.
“Then he started asking Rob ‘what do I do here?’ I thought ‘What?’ Did they not go over tactics beforehand? I thought there had to be something going on.”
One rumour which has surfaced since Joshua’s off-colour display is that he was chinned in sparring during his training camp.
It has been suggested that 28-year-old Philadelphian Joey Dawejko did the damage although Hearn moved swiftly to deny the rumour.
Now Frank Warren, Joyce’s promoter, says heads should roll in the Joshua business if he was knocked out in the lead up to Saturday’s upset.
Warren said: “If he did get knocked out then somebody needs to be accountable for that.
“It’s all very well saying ‘it’s all money – this is how much is in the accounts.’ Well f*** the accounts’ you should be worried about the accountability for the boxer’s health.
“People need to focus on that because I’ve seen it in my time – people getting hurt, badly hurt and on rare occasions getting killed in the ring.
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“If he got knocked out then the people who put him in there need to be brought to account – all of them.
“You can’t allow them to be in charge of kids if they’re encouraging that.
“Fighters get knocked down in the gym or wobbled but getting knocked out is a different thing altogether.”