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Anthony Joshua criticised rival Andy Ruiz ’s ill-thought preparation for their heavyweight title fight on Saturday by claiming his ‘three months of partying’ was “not the way of a champion”.
Joshua reclaimed the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles after securing a convincing unanimous points decision over Ruiz, who came into the might more than a stone heavier than their first contest on 1 June this year.
In doing so, Joshua became a two-time world champion, having taken a far more concentrated approach on his preparations for a fight that had the potential to make or break his career.
But Ruiz was very much the opposite, with the Mexican-American choosing to embrace his world champion status between the two fights by eating and drinking without restraint, resulting in a large weight-increase and below-par performance on Saturday night.
“I would have loved to have trained the way Andy trained!” joked Joshua, appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain from Saudi Arabia on Monday morning.
Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in picturesShow all 65 1 /65Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The Diriyah Arena hosts the rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The purpose-built 15,000-capacity arena was erected for the bout in fewer than six weeks.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov arrives at the Dirayah Arena.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez arrives at the Diriyah Arena.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fans attemped to remain dry as rain struck the arena early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz There were fears the undercard could be cut short due to rain but defiant fans remained in their seats for the bouts.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Umbrellas and ponchos were a familiar sight across the crowd.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But they did not let the weather dampen their spirits on the night.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz A sparse crowd watched on as the undercard got underway.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fans smile in the rain ahead of the opening bout.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Zuhayr Al Qahtani kicked off the bill in an eight-round bout for the WBC Middle East Lightweight Championship against Omar Dusary.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani (right) attempts to land a right hand on Dusary.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani looked the more livelier boxer early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani and Dusary tumble to the canvas after losing their footing.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani celebrates his victory by unanimous points decision.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fears that females would not be allowed to attend were immediately dismissed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Hopey Price vs Swedi Mohamed Hopey Price celebrates beating Swedi Mohamed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Flip Hrgovic vs Eric Molina Flip Hrgovic celebrates beating Eric Molina.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little The referee stops Tom Little in the second round to hand victory to Majid.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little Majid celebrates his stoppage win.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Dillian Whyte vs Mariusz Wach Dillian Whyte defeated Mariusz Wach.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter Michael Hunter arrived in the ring in full Predator attire ahead of his bout with Alexander Povetkin.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter The pair dished up a thrilling 12-round heavyweight slog.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter Both Povetkin and Hunter hit the canvas without taking counts as the fight went the distance.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter The judges scored the contest a split draw.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Promoter Eddie Hearn makes his way into the ring ahead of the main event.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Announcer Michael Buffer prepares to welcome Joshua and Ruiz to the ring for the main event.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Michael Buffer introduces the challenger Anthony Joshua.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua looked nervous as he made his way to the ring.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua points to the sky as his name is read out.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The magnitude of the night looked crystal clear on Joshua's face.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Champion Andy Ruiz makes his way to the ring with the WBA, IBO and WBO
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz stares down Joshua across the ring.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz immediately looked to take the centre of the ring and walk down Joshua.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Whereas Joshua looked to keep distance between himself and Ruiz.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua landed a big right hand to cut Ruiz above his left eye in the first round.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz brushed off the cut and got back to business quickly.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz did have blood flowing down his face early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz's face shows the damage of the opening round.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua suffered a cut in round two after a clash of heads.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The two began to trade as the fight wore on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua was able to keep Ruiz at his range and dominate the fight.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz at times managed to work inside and give Joshua something to think about.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz shaded the eighth as he got Joshua flush.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But the ninth proved a scrappy round as the two started to become edgy.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The two needed splitting apart on one occasion.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The referee had to give Joshua a ticking off when he refused to acknowledge him.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But the battle quickly resumed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua was able to re-establish his dominance.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And in the 11th Joshua caught Ruiz with a powerful straight right that put the defending champion in reverse.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The strong round meant that Ruiz needed a knockout to retain the belts, but it never came.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua celebrates at the end of the bout while Ruiz is tended to.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Announced as a two-time champion, Joshua reclaims the titles.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And while he opened the door to a third match against Ruiz, he insisted there is no decision on where his future lies.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua decided to praise his opponent and say he would be happy to do it a third time.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz While Ruiz admitted that he got his preparation wrong and put on too much weight.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz accepted that he was sluggish that played into Joshua's hands.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Promoter Eddie Hearn celebrates with Joshua after the victory is announced.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua grins with the titles back in his corner.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And he was quick to put the straps back around him and show off his gold.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz could only watch on after the losing the titles.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz With Joshua now a two-time world champion.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua's large entourage joined him in the ring to celebrate.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua made sure he took a moment to celebrate with his father too.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz By the end of the night, Joshua was back on top of the world.
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“I would’ve loved that but that’s not the way of a champion. Andy can say all these things but he knew he had a fight and he knew the best way to prepare. Unfortunately it didn’t go his way and I’m sure he can make those changes, and learning life’s lessons come in different forms and Andy’s was in the form of a loss as well [as mine].
“He knows his mistakes, whatever they were or maybe they’re excuses, he just needs to go out there and get it right and come back again.”
Joshua also expanded on why part of his approach was to block out the voices who told him that facing Ruiz in an immediate rematch just six months after being stopped by him was a mistake.
The Briton was knocked down four times in June on his way to the first defeat of his professional career, a result that was even more of a shock given that he sent Ruiz to the canvas first in the third round.
“No excuses for the last time, and I don’t want anybody to write Andy off,” Joshua added. “He’s a great former champion and he done well and he beat me fair and square. Sometimes you just have to recheck yourself and that comes in many different forms and mine was in a loss, and this time I was really concentrated on my job.
“I just didn’t listen to these so-called boxing experts who claimed that I wouldn’t be able to reclaim my belts and it’s dangerous going straight into a rematch – not many heavyweights have been able to reclaim their belts – but I believed in my team, I kept my same team that everyone told me to get rid of and I feel like loyalty proves strength and we went out there and proved how good we really are now.
“Two-time heavyweight champion of the world, I’m thankful, I’m grateful to be on the TV and all the great things that are going to start happening for me.”
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