Get round by round results and full fight coverage here for the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr.
Tonight (Saturday, June 1st) on DAZN, unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) puts his WBO, WBA, and IBF titles at stake against short notice replacement Andy Ruiz Jr (32-1, 21 KOs). This is Joshua’s United States debut, as his raucous fans will fill up Madison Square Garden in New York.
Ruiz is replacing Jarrell Miller, a New York native who was ready to sell the fight heavily with trash talk, but instead failed a billion drug tests and got himself pulled from the broadcast. The Mexican-American’s only defeat came against Joseph Parker, who won the vacant WBO title by narrow decision. He doesn’t have much in the way of high-quality wins, and is indeed a heavy underdog with an underwhelming physique, but he does have fast hands and will surely give it a good effort in the biggest opportunity of his life.
Joshua is coming off a TKO win vs. Alexander Povetkin, and this is his first appearance for 2019. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the British superstar will face either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury this year, so he’s going to have to make due with what else is available. Boxing’s awful politics aside, Joshua is one of the sport’s most exciting and biggest stars, so you should get some entertainment out of this show, which also includes an undisputed women’s lightweight title fight between Katie Taylor (13-0, 6 KOs) and Delfine Persoon (43-1, 18 KOs).
The event will air exclusively on DAZN in the following countries: USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and Spain. Sky Sports Box Office has the PPV in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It is expected that the fight will begin around 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT, but more likely 11 PM ET/8 PM PT. The three-fight main card starts at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, with prelims at 5:30 PM ET/2:30 PM PT.
Join as at Bloody Elbow for live results and play-by-play of the fight. Offer your opinion in the comment section!
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr – 12 rounds, WBA (super), IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles
Round 1 – Raucous crowd cheering on Joshua as we are underway. Joshua jabs the body. Right hand lands for Joshua as Ruiz responds with a combination that’s blocked. Jab upstairs by Joshua. Ruiz with a jab. Not a whole lot happening thus far. Ruiz just misses with a right hand on the counter. Joshua lands another jab. Ruiz connects on a left but eats another jab to end the round. 10-9 Joshua.
Round 2 – Ruiz coming out aggressively with a left hook that misses. Ugly exchange sees Ruiz connect on a right hand. Joshua keeps the jab going. Continues to go after the body. Nice right hand by Joshua and a left hook afterward. Another slow round. 20-18 Joshua.
Round 3 – Joshua digging that body with more jabbing. BIG LEFT HOOK DROPS RUIZ! Ruiz gets to his feet. Joshua going for the finish! They tee off in the center of the ring. Left hook hurts Joshua! Big shots by Ruiz AND JOSHUA IS DOWN! THIS IS CRAZY! Ruiz is very much in this. Left hook cracks Joshua again. He is looking hurt! Joshua returns to jabbing the body. Big right hand staggers Joshua! Another shot has Joshua DOWN AGAIN! He is saved by the bell! 28-28.
Round 4 – Ruiz coming aggressively at Joshua. AJ looks like he’s still hurt but he scores with a big left hook. Ruiz throws a right that falls just short. Joshua not throwing much or doing much. This was a very cautious round for both men, but Ruiz should’ve been more aggressive. 38-37 Joshua.
Round 5 – Right hand by Ruiz to the body. Nice left by Ruiz. Both men land good shots in the center of the ring. Left hook by Joshua, whose nose is a tad bloodied. Good jab to the body. Massive left hook by Joshua. Ruiz pushing the jab. Right hand by Ruiz is blocked. 48-46 Joshua.
Round 6 – Ruiz gets clipped with a left. Good defense by Ruiz as he dodges a Joshua combo. Ruiz off-target with a left hook, fires off a right hand. Good right by Ruiz. Joshua clips Ruiz with a counter jab. Body shot by Ruiz. Combo by Ruiz! Andy is putting in work. He’s tagging Joshua several times over! Joshua almost looks exhausted. 57-56 Joshua.
Round 7 – Good left hook by Joshua but Ruiz swarms him in response and drops him again! Joshua throws several left hooks and then Ruiz knocks him down a fourth time! And he spit out his mouthpiece. REFEREE STOPS THE FIGHT! Joshua doesn’t want to continue. Andy Ruiz has done it!
Official result: Andy Ruiz def. Anthony Joshua by TKO at 1:27 of round 7 to become the WBO, IBF, and WBA heavyweight champion
Main Card results
Andy Ruiz Jr def. Anthony Joshua by TKO, 1:27 of round 7 – 12 rounds, For WBO, IBF, and WBA heavyweight titles
Callum Smith def. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam by TKO at 2:56 of round 3 – 12 rounds, WBA super-middleweight title
Katie Taylor def. Delfine Persoon by majority decision (96-94, 96-94, 95-95) – 10×2 minute rounds, For undisputed lightweight titles