“Sin to give up $ 85 million”: Roy Jones about the rematch of Joshua and Ruiz, Wilder’s progress and White’s boxing ambitions

“Ruiz’s victory cannot be called pure luck”

- Boxing fans are eagerly awaiting a replay between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joush. You recently said that the Briton should not have asked for a rematch right away. But in this case, there would be no suspicion that he was not ready for a new match?

- I have two points of view on this issue. On the one hand, there is at least one reason why Joshua simply had to agree to a rematch right away.

- What?

- It’s a sin to give up $ 85 million. Whoever says anything. There is nothing to think about.

- But what about emotions or the desire to take revenge and prove that the defeat was a coincidence?

- I will not sweep anything. May be so. I do not want to say that it’s only a prize. But when you can earn that kind of money for what you were already going to do, how can you refuse? In a way, you simply have no choice. If they tell me to enter the ring against Ruiz, Anthony Tarver or someone else for $ 85 million, I will answer: “How much? Arrange the battle sooner, I'm ready! ”

“Nevertheless, you see reasons for Joshua not to agree to such an immediate rematch ...”

- If you fought with Ruiz, knocked him down, but he got up and won, then this also says something. Andy is a great athlete. I think that before calling for revenge, Anthony needed to work out some points, adjust his style.

- What exactly did he need to do?

- Joshua had to conduct one battle in order to understand whether he made the right changes, whether everything suits him. And only then challenge Ruiz. After all, he is boxing much better than many people think. He has more skills, he has been doing this since he was eight years old and understands this sport better. His victory is by no means pure luck. Andy knows how to fight.

“However, Joshua himself said that he could beat Ruiz in nine out of ten cases.”

- Most likely, it is, since the Briton is in better physical shape. If he understands what adjustments need to be made, realizes his mistakes and knows how to fix them, then he can arrange a rematch right away.

- Do you think that it was not a matter of concentration and enhanced training and extreme concentration would not help Joshua get the upper hand?

- Such opinions will be confirmed if the ex-champion manages to send a vis-a-vis knockout in the first rounds. Otherwise, Anthony will have problems again.

- Joshua himself admitted that he was not fully focused on that fight, already thinking about the next opponent. How is this possible?

“From the outside, it seemed that Joshua underestimated Ruiz a bit, because he was already thinking about Wilder.” But Andy is not an easy opponent, and this was clear in advance. Judge for yourself, his only defeat occurred in a duel with Joseph Parker in New Zealand, which ended in a separate decision of the judges.

- What is this talking about?

“Perhaps he did not lose that fight.”

“In boxing, the path to success lies through change”

- UFC President Dana White decided to become a promoter in boxing and said he did not recognize the four main boxing organizations. Do you think he will succeed with this attitude?

- Of course, he could well succeed. In boxing, the path to success lies through change. Remember how it was with the UFC itself. He made mixed martial arts almost more popular than our sport. If White can take control of all the athletes he manages to attract, create a new title ...

“Why do you think he will succeed?”

- He created stars over the past 20 years. To make a man a celebrity, he needed only a year or two. For comparison, in boxing it takes about five years.

“What is the reason for White's success?”

“He has more experience than many of our promoters.” Dana can see the potential faster than any of them. In two decades, more stars have been lit in the UFC than in boxing in almost 100 years. So White knows his business, no one can compare with him. Of course, in the new field, he will continue to do the same. And if the rest are not careful, he will simply push them all aside.

- You said that Tyson Fury defeated Deontheus Wilder in last year's fight ...

- Yes, in my opinion, it is. And he could win.

- Who do you think has made greater progress since that moment?

- Perhaps, Wilder. He did very sensible things and showed himself to be a smart boxer. I saw his revenge with Louis Ortiz, and he approached him wisely. Everyone shouted that the American was making a mistake, but no. He knew that the opponent had about three hundred meetings of three three-minute periods behind him, therefore, one should not try to defeat him at the very beginning. You just have to wait, wait for the later rounds, in which the Cuban does not have much experience, and send him to the knockout with one verified blow. It seems to me that this is the most sensible decision of Deontay for his whole career. So there is progress.

- Name the three best boxers of our time, regardless of weight category.

- Terence Crawford, Vasily Lomachenko and Saul Alvarez. No questions.