Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz 6/01/19 Odds, Preview and Prediction

Anthony Joshua defends his heavyweight belts against Andy Ruiz on June 1, 2019 at the Madison Square Garden in the former’s U.S. debut.

Joshua is widely regarded as the best heavyweight today although WBC champion Deontay Wilder and lineal champion Tyson Fury have also claimed that title. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist won the IBF belt by knocking out Charles Martin in 2016 before winning the other belts by retiring the great Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.

AJ was supposed to fight Jarrell Miller but Big Baby failed several drug tests and was removed from the match-up. Ruiz was offered the fight and the Mexican-American took it on short notice. Joshua stands a massive 6-6 with a reach of 82 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.

Andy Ruiz is a one time world heavyweight title challenger who is the former NABF heavyweight champion.The 29-year old from Imperial Valley in California has a record of 32-1 with 21 knockouts. He stands 6-2 and has a reach of 74 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.

The man known as “The Destroyer” fought for the vacant WBO heavyweight title in 2016 and lost by majority decision. Since that loss, Ruiz has won three straight bouts to get himself back in title contention. In his last bout, Ruiz knocked out former European heavyweight champion Alexander Dimitrenko.

Who Wins?

Although he is a huge boxing betting underdog, Andy Ruiz is no bum and is someone that Anthony Joshua cannot take for granted. He may not look like a worthy challenger but don’t let his looks deceive you. Ruiz is a very good boxer, who has good movement for his size and he also has decent punching power.

If Andy Ruiz were fighting a guy his size, he can try to win the fight by outboxing his opponent. He can’t do the same against a taller and longer Anthony Joshua who can easily box around him if he (AJ) wants to. That means Ruiz will have to get close in order to land his punches.

But other than a puncher’s chance, I don’t see how he can beat Anthony Joshua. For one, Joshua has the size advantage meaning Ruiz will have to try and cut the distance and fight Joshua on the inside to be able to land his punches. But will he be able to get inside without getting punished? And when he goes inside, Joshua also has powerful short punches which could end Ruiz’s night early.

Given his disadvantages, I think Ruiz will go for broke and try to get to Joshua early. His best chance of knocking out the champ is early when his power is still not compromised. The longer this fight goes, I think Joshua will have the advantage not only because he has the experience but because he has better stamina. No question Ruiz can go 12 rounds too but he is likely going to tire late in the fight and that takes away some of the pop from his punches.

Sorry, but I don’t see how Andy Ruiz wins this fight unless he catches Anthony Joshua with a one-punch knockout. AJ is physically and technically supreme over him. I’m picking Anthony Joshua to beat Andy Ruiz on 6.1.19. But since AJ is priced so high at -2600, let’s take a look at the prop bet available for this bout.

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Other Bet To Make

Only one out of Joshua’s 22 wins went the distance and that was Joseph Parker who lost via unanimous decision to AJ in March 2018. On the other hand, Ruiz has only lost once in his career and that was to Joseph Parker in 2016 and he lost via majority decision when they fought for the vacant WBO heavyweight title in 2016.

Of Joshua’s 21 knockouts, only five went past round six. Of the six, only Wladimir Klitschko, Carlos Takam and Alexander Povetkin went past 6 ½ rounds. That means 86% of AJ’s knockouts went past 6.5 rounds and 82% of his total fights have gone past the 6.5-round mark.

Ruiz meanwhile has gone past six round just a total of four times in his career although three of those happened in his last five bouts. Those three fights went the distance and he went 2-1 in those bouts. This means that 88% of Ruiz’s total bouts ended before round 6.

Given their fight resumes, both fighters are likely to end their fights via knockout, at least 80% of their fights do. Both can also go the distance but given their history, this fight is more likely to be abbreviated, with Joshua winning and stopping Andy Ruiz in the first half of the fight. Prediction: Under 6.5 -125

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