Boxing legend George Foreman believes Andy Ruiz Jr can be outboxed by Anthony Joshua as the defending champion weighed heavier than the first fight.
Ruiz Jr and Joshua lock horns today in the headlining bout of the Clash on the Dunes in Saudi Arabia, with the heavyweight titles on the line.
In the official weigh in yesterday, the Mexican boxer tipped the scales at 283 lbs. for the rematch or his heaviest weight in ten years.
He is also more than three stones heavier than his challenger for the Saturday affair and ‘Big George’ is now worried about ‘The Destroyer.’
Wasted Opportunity
Speaking to USA Today, Foreman said Ruiz Jr blew his chances of pulling off another huge upset against Joshua because he is ‘out of shape.’
“He’s blown it, really.”
“He’s blown his opportunity. He threw away a great opportunity really because now he can be outboxed.”
“Guys will tell you, ‘This is the way I look. I told you I’ve been there and I feel better at this weight and everything.”
“But nobody, absolutely no-one, wants to put their body on display and look that much out of shape.”
“They don’t want to do it, I’m telling you. Don’t let him trick you. You are a celebrity and everybody wants you to taste some food.”
“And you think you have enough time, six weeks come up, and you don’t have enough time to get in shape and lose weight.”
“That’s the trick. You got to lose weight and you can’t fuse them together because most of your training camp will be spent on losing weight and you just won’t be in condition for the fight. So he got caught up.”
Skills Matter
“He got caught up in this terrible [situation]. If [Joshua] had enough time to recover, he should whip Ruiz without any problem,” Foreman continued.
“Just box him, box him. Take him into deep water, keep boxing him. And he should win a 12-round decision.”
Meanwhile, the revenge-seeking Joshua weighed 237 lbs, his lightest weight since 2014, and said skills will play more crucial than weight.
“He’s a big lad, I’m a big lad, and we hit hard regardless. The physical stuff is done. It’s about the mental now. Aligning my body and my thoughts.”
“I will be victorious. Within myself, I am confident. But I have to prove it to the world.”
“I feel good. The weigh-in is important but, as heavyweights, it doesn’t matter because skills pay the bills.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ George Foreman and Twitter/All Of The Belts)