MADISON SQUARE GARDEN – Rumors abound that Dana White was seen slamming his fists and tossing his cell phone from his UFC penthouse. Why? Because an old, dormant sport, one that many thought was defunct or even extinct like land lines, rose from the ashes of obscurity last night. Adding to the absurdly preposterous script, a fat guy, one of Mexican lineage, pulled off the biggest upset since Rocky knocked out Creed. And he did it at a place that the sports gods have forgotten for what seems decades… Madison Square Garden. Who is this new Balboa that may once again garner interest in Heavyweight Boxing, you ask? Why it’s none other than Andy Ruiz, Jr..
Andrés Ponce Ruiz Junior united the Heavyweight Boxing Clans. With his “Destroyer” nickname straight from a Bugs Bunny cartoon, he needed but 7 rounds to see America kick the snot out of Great Britain yet again. No, it wasn’t the Revolutionary War, the French & Indian War or the War of 1812. Instead, it was two guys going mano y mano (in the parlance of the winner) and somehow, in a crazy way united the boxing alphabet: WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF… and MTM.
https://youtu.be/MQnToZYGAoY
To say that this was a stunner would be like saying Donald Trump becoming President was completely expected and welcomed by all. Ruiz only got his shot because the contender set to face Anthony Joshua failed a drug test. In fact, Deontay Wilder, will be punching himself in the face once he serves out his suspension and is reinstated.
Not punching himself in the face, (because he’d likely go down each time) is Anthony Joshua. He did, however, throw the gauntlet down in manly, macho way – with a Tweet. Oh wait, that’s not very butch, is it? But it is very British. Anyway, his Tweet said:
Anthony Joshua tells @SIChrisMannix afterwards that he plans on exercising his rematch clause. “100%,” he said.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 2, 2019
Ooh… Now dem’s fightin’ words.
Speaking of war cries, come back tomorrow for our Andy Ruiz Jr., Cheesy Bruin.
