By his own description, Andy Ruiz Jr. was “a short, fat guy” challenging the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world in a true “Rocky” showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Ruiz — appropriately a 25-1 betting underdog a week before the fight — looked destined for an early bedtime when Anthony Joshua knocked him down in the third round, but he rose like a phoenix and immediately took over the fight, scoring for knockdowns of his own on his way to a seventh-round TKO.
Our expert analysts, Travis Hartman, Rizwaan Zahid, and John J. Raspanti take this fight apart piece by piece to explain what happened and why, predict what’s going to happen next, and what the whole shocking episode means to this heavyweight division.
We follow up with a fabulous conversation with Hall of Fame author Gene Aguilera about his newest book, “Latino Boxing in Southern California,” a colorful stroll through the world of Carlos Palomino, Carlos Zarate, Alfonso Zamora, Rubin Olivares, Bobby Chacon, Lupe Pintor, Art Aragon, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roberto Duran, and many; many others.
Don’t miss this incredible hour-long interview with a Hall of Fame writer.
Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of “Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy,” an Amazon bestseller.
