Anthony Joshua may have pocketed an estimated $25M from his bout with Andy Ruiz Jnr, but what he earned in money, he lost in prestige and pride, he is no longer 'the undefeated heavyweight champion'. And Guess who was lurking in the corner, waiting to pounce via twitter? you guessed right, Deontay Wilder!
Fierce rival and WBC champion, Wilder took to Twitter to bare his mind.
he wasn't a true champion, his whole career consisted of lies, contradictions, and gifts, ... facts and now we know who was running from who - Wilder
What a humiliating troll coming from Wilder. AJ-Wilder has been involved in harsh words and trash talks down the years, it could be recalled that AJ once criticized both Wilder and Fury for ducking him, he also said that both were fighting 'cab drivers and binmen', so, this latest tweet from Wilder couldn't be more savage.
Former heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury was surprisingly subtle with his tweet,
we have our back and forth but @anthonyjoshua changed his stars through life, heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again - Fury
It's the moanday contest, an @pete's kind initiative, be part of it if you can here.
Prior to the bout against Andy Ruiz, majority of boxing fans across the world had criticized AJ's choice of Ruiz, they had referred to the bout as AJ aiming for another easy KO under his belt, a more competitive and blockbuster fight with any of Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte would have satisfied boxing fans. However, what ensued at the Madison Square Garden caught everyone by surprise, It was a case of everything to lose for AJ and absolutely nothing to lose for Ruiz, and the Mexican sure grabbed the opportunity that was presented to him with both gloves.
We could quickly jump to the conclusion that AJ underrated his opponent, however, some of AJ's pre-bout comments suggested otherwise,
Ruiz is a more sound, well-balanced, feet underneath him and little head movement, ... he's got confidence in his ability that he can kind of counterpunch, ... he's not afraid to throw punches - AJ
Or, was the bout thrown? because I've heard some friends insinuating a match-fixing. I personally don't think AJ will agree to lose to Andy Ruiz Jnr, not by a long shot.
So, how did a champion that had never been floored since he became a champion kiss the canvas 4 times in 7 rounds? Some reports had claimed that AJ's trouble started in the 3rd round when he was caught clean on the head by Ruiz left hook, a devastating punch that got AJ on the floor for the 1st time in quite a while. Reports had it that AJ started asking his corner a sequence of confusing questions,
•what shot was it?
•what round was it?
•why am i feeling like this?
one shot on top of the dome kind of rattled me a little bit - said AJ
This shocking upset can be likened to an upset in April 2001 when Champion Lennox Lewis lost his belts to an underdog, Hasim Rahman in a 5th-round KO. Also, Lewis had in 1994 lost to an unfancied Oliver McCall in a 2nd-round KO. We couldn't also forget the Iron Mike Tyson lost his titles in a 10th-round KO to Buster Douglas in 1990. Anthony Joshua's name will be added in the history book among champions that lost to an underdog.
AJ needs to ignore all the internet trolls and focus on the rematch, someone once said;
The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them. - Chris Jammi
He certainly got more than he'd hoped for, however, a convincing KO of Andy Ruiz in the rematch come November-December will somewhat repair his dented status and pride but it cannot erase the historical defeat to the Mexican, Andy Ruiz Jnr.
Thank you all for your time and upvotes
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