WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was not pleased with the performances of Anthony Joshua or Andy Ruiz Jr. in their unified title rematch.
Joshua became a two-time unified heavyweight champion following his unanimous decision triumph over Ruiz on Saturday. It wasn’t as action-packed as the first fight but Joshua was able to get the job done by staying on the outside and jabbing his way to victory.
But that’s not how a heavyweight champion should perform according to Wilder:
“Joshua did what he had to do to get the win. He ran around the ring and was on his bike all day,” Wilder told The Athletic. “Basically, he had (former champion Wladimir) Klitschko in the camp and he was a lot like Klitschko: that jab-grab-hold method. That’s all he did tonight.
“You want to dominate guys, man! Maybe I’m just too rough, too hardcore and too much of a dream for this time and era, maybe the world wants that nice shit … my mentality is so different from these other fighters. But when I think of myself as a champion — as a champion! — you want to come out there and whoop his ass.
“I’m not coming in, after losing to this guy, to just dance and grab and jab and hold. I’m going to show the world and convince them I am the very best and that no one is close to me, especially with what’s going on in the division right now. It’s a time of proving who is the best.”
Wilder Criticizes Ruiz As Well
Ruiz didn’t escape criticism from Wilder either. “The Bronze Bomber” was hoping for Ruiz to win so that it would accelerate a potential title unification fight seeing as both fighters are under the PBC banner.
That’s not happening now as Wilder unloaded on Ruiz for his performance as well as post-fight comments that he wasn’t fully prepared:
“People say I have no skills, but my intellect is high enough to know if I’d been in a situation like (Ruiz) and something’s not working, you’ve got to change up my style,” he added. “I’m smart enough to know: Cut the fucking ring off.
“Once you cut the ring off, you put Joshua in a corner and you can have your way with him by hitting him the way you did the first time. To be in boxing that long and not know how to cut the ring off? If he knew, he didn’t do it, or he didn’t have the intellect. I’m a little upset with him.
“… Ruiz said he was doing great, not letting this moment get to him, but in the end you hear him saying he ate too much and should’ve trained harder … like, what the fuck? What do you mean you ate too much and could’ve trained harder?
“I take this shit seriously. I don’t know what their mentality is, but I didn’t become champion of the world just to say, ‘Put me in the record books. At least I can say I was a champion. They can never take that away from me!’ Fuck that shit! I’m here for legacy. Long live the king! That’s my mentality, and America should love a world champion like me.”
Do you agree with Wilder?
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