Former world champion Haye believes British can overcome Ruiz Jr
London, Thursday
Former world champion David Haye has claimed that a ‘new and improved’ Anthony Joshua will be fully prepared for his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr on Saturday.
Haye also believes that the British heavyweight, who was dethroned by Ruiz in the pair’s first showdown in New York, is capable of gaining revenge over his opponent with a victory on points.
But the 39-year-old tipped Ruiz to approach the showdown with confidence having benefited from a greater period of time to prepare for the clash.
Improvements
With Joshua also having worked to tighten his defence before the highly-anticipated bout, Haye predicts that his countryman will reap the rewards in Saudi Arabia.
He told Betfair: ‘Questions have been asked over whether Anthony Joshua has had enough time between the two fights with Andy Ruiz Jr to make the improvements needed to win the rematch.
‘Judging by his performance back in June, AJ has had plenty to work on, but I believe he has had time on his side. A fighter can change significantly during a 12-week training camp.
In fact, it has been much longer than that as this fight would have dominated the thinking of Joshua since the summer.
More punches
‘Anthony would have been thinking non-stop about the rematch, about what he could have done better first time out, if given the opportunity. We will see the fruits of that hard work on Saturday.
Word around the campfire is that AJ has lost a lot of muscle bulk and is looking at throwing significantly more punches.
‘He has also been working on tightening up his defence and that should be much better than it was in New York.
Joshua is going to be switched on and as prepared as we have ever seen him for a fight. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing this new and improved version of Anthony.’
Haye also believes that Ruiz will be reluctant to relinquish his belt after shocking Joshua in June, and expects the Mexican-American to have also progressed from the rivals’ first meeting.
He added: ‘There’s always a danger of the newfound fame and fortune going to a fighter’s head but that’s unlikely to happen to Ruiz.
‘He seems to be a man who is extremely proud of his Mexican heritage and he won’t want to relinquish all of the credibility he has gathered worldwide by not training hard, paying the price and making the sacrifices required in training to get the best out of himself on fight night.’
‘He comes into the ring with confidence, after recording the biggest victory of his career.
He’s a guy who is very awkward, throws lots of punches and I don’t believe his victory will, in any way, make him a worse fighter. If anything, it will make him a better fighter.
Early advantage
‘It’s worth remembering Andy had a short training camp for the first fight, having stepped in at short notice to replace Jarrell Miller. He has now had the benefit of full preparations, so it’s up to Joshua to raise his game to match that.’
Ex-professional Haye also provided a stark warning for Joshua and tipped a potential knockout to come from his opponent.
But the London-born expert later tipped Joshua to clinch victory if he is able to gain an advantage in the fight’s early stages. -Dailymail
He said: ‘If Joshua is able to win build up a lead in the first half of the fight, I expect Ruiz to change his approach and take more risks. In which case, Joshua will have a very good chance of stopping the champion in the later rounds, between 10 and 12.’
