Ring-walks from 8.45pm on Saturday - "Joshua didn't survive his crisis so what happens when he faces another one?"
Thursday 5 December 2019 21:37, UK
There’ll be plenty of eyes on Saudi Arabia this weekend as Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua renew hostilities following their stunning heavyweight clash in the summer.
Sky customers: Buy Ruiz Jr v Joshua 2
Non-Sky customers: Buy Ruiz Jr v Joshua 2
Their Madison Square Garden showdown is etched into boxing folklore due to the seismic upset caused by the Mexican-American, and after grabbing the attention of a huge global audience, the heavy-hitting duo are ready to do it all over again and it seems everybody has an opinion on the fight.
One of those people is Jay Deas, the highly-esteemed trainer and manager of WBC champion Deontay Wilder knows both fighters well from his role within Team Wilder. A fight between the Alabama man and Joshua was discussed on numerous occasions, but the result of June's fight has placed any potential between the heavyweight rivals on hold for the time being.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, Deas admits that he's excited to see the imminent rematch and is curious what the result has done for both men.
"There's a lot of people out there now wondering what this fight has done for Joshua, but there's other ways to look at things," said Deas.
"It's going to be interesting to see what Joshua will be like because he knows deep down that he's no longer invincible and that he can be hurt at any time.
"He took one big shot and didn't recover, and he'll have that playing in his head over and over again. He can't approach this fight with the same recklessness and aggression he's showed before, but is fighting cautiously the answer for someone who's not used to fighting that way?
"As for Ruiz Jr, it'll also be interesting to see how things play out for him because the last six months will have been absolute chaos for him. He's a very wealthy man now, he'll have friends coming out from everywhere telling him how great he is.
"Ruiz Jr will think he's the greatest man on Earth with all of the attention he'll have received these last few months and you wonder how he'll react to that. Is his hunger still there? Does he still want it? Has he already peaked?"
With Deas questioning the approach of both men, who does he actually think will win the fight?
"I've got to go with Ruiz Jr again. That first fight took a lot more from Joshua in my opinion and it was a slow beating that got worse as it went on.
"Ruiz Jr took a few rounds to figure Joshua out and he's the fighter who also survived a crisis in the fight.
"Joshua didn't survive his crisis so what happens when he faces another one?
"This is heavyweight boxing at its best, but if I'm picking winner then I have to go with the guy who performed so well in the first fight."
Watch Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua 2 in Saudi Arabia on Saturday December 7, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
