Mike Tyson has revealed where he thinks Anthony Joshua went wrong in his shock defeat against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Joshua suffered the first defeat of his career in the showdown with Ruiz Jr in June, being knocked down on four separate occasions before losing by TKO in the seventh round.
The defeat came as a big shock to both Joshua and the boxing world, with AJ losing his IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO titles to Ruiz Jr in the process.
And ‘Iron Mike’ believes it was the laugh and shoulder shrug of Joshua after he was knocked down in the fourth round that may have cost him the fight.
The 53-year-old is known for his prolific career in professional boxing, and was famous for his explosive power and ferocious boxing style.
An Inexperienced Move
Speaking on BBC documentary ‘One Night: Joshua vs Ruiz’, the former unified heavyweight champion said: “He tried to regroup himself but you don’t let him see you do that.”
“That’s an inexperienced move.”
“Fighting is the art of not letting the other one know.”
“Don’t let him know anything.”
“When you get knocked down, you go ‘you motherf***er – I’m going to f***ing kill you’.”
“You have to do something.”
“If you get knocked down, get back up.”
Joshua will have the chance to win back the titles he lost in New York six months ago when he goes head-to-head with Ruiz Jr for the second time on Saturday 7 December, in Saudi Arabia.
The 30-year-old Brit has been in intense training in the build-up to the fight, looking leaner and lighter than he did the first time round.
The 2012 Olympic champion has also expressed the difference in his mentality as he prepares to try and redeem himself, telling BBC Sport: “There is fire in the belly.”
Morality and Guts
In the documentary Tyson stresses his belief that mentality is the most important asset in any fight: “People don’t know.”
“They say ‘boxers look like this, athletes look like this.”
“But this is not the norm.”
“It’s not about technique or size.”
“It’s the morality in the fight.”
“If you’ve got no zest, morality or guts, you’ve got nothing – it’s about the will.”
Rematch
All will become clear on Saturday as to whether Joshua has the right mindset to come back from his shock defeat to Ruiz Jr and reclaim the titles from the Mexican-American.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua)