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| Anthony Joshua won his titles back at first attempt |
Nigerian born British boxer Anthony Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr on a unanimous points decision in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to seize back the heavyweight world championship belts he lost to his Mexican-American opponent in a shock upset last June.
The 'Clash on the Dunes' in Diriyah was for the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles and Joshua set the pace from the start with a measured masterclass that showed he had learned from the nightmare of New York.
The judges scored the fight 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109 to the 30-year-old Briton.
"It was his night, man," said Ruiz as his six-month reign ended in the 15,000 seat arena on the outskirts of the capital Riyadh.
The decision to take the fight to Saudi Arabia had been criticized by human rights campaigners but Joshua complimented the hosts and welcomed Ruiz's suggestion that there should be a third encounter.
"If you heard, we're going to do it a third," said the champion.
Ruiz had stopped the previously undefeated Briton in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden but there was to be no second bolt of lightning from the man in the golden gloves and shorts.
He suffered a nasty gash over his left eye early on, with Joshua also bloodied on the brow in the second round to keep the cornermen busy to the end.
As the fight went into the second half, Ruiz was looking frustrated and was warned for illegal blows.
The eighth was more promising, with Joshua momentarily appearing vulnerable, but the Briton took back control and by round 11 had a spring in his step, looking fresh and nimble on his feet while using his height advantage to good effect.
Ruiz knew he needed a knockout but it never came.
Joshua, now with a record of 23 wins and one defeat, had described that June defeat -- to a flabby-looking opponent drafted in as a late replacement -- as no more than a "minor setback".
While he made light of it again in victory, he was clearly relieved.
"Man, the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice," he told the crowd.
"I'm used to knocking guys out but last time I realized 'hang on a minute, I hurt the man and I got caught coming in'. I gave the man his credit. I said to myself I'm going to correct myself and come again."
Another loss in the early hours of Sunday would have put the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight champion's career on the line, with some saying after the last fight that he was finished.
Joshua gets it right all night
Joshua, 30, now joins a small cluster of men including Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Floyd Patterson to have reclaimed the world heavyweight title.
Patterson fell to the canvas seven times in one round as he lost his belts to Ingemar Johansson in 1959 but regained them in a rematch. The question in Saudi Arabia was whether Joshua could show the same mental fortitude after being knocked down four times by Ruiz in June. His answer was emphatic.
A downpour in a country that barely sees rain stopped moments before Joshua strode to the ring, prompting him to carefully dry his feet on the canvas.
From that moment on, his feet moved with grace. Seconds before the off, Ruiz was told "let's go Andy" by his corner but he was rarely allowed to get close to his rival and inflict the damage he did in the first fight.
Ruiz, the bookmakers' underdog again, was cut above his left eye in the first. He landed two jabs of his own in the second but took a left hook as Joshua moved with the lightness of a man at his lowest weight in five years.
He was burning energy but was slick and showed variety in working head and body in the third. A crowd unfamiliar with the sweet science at such close quarters offered audible applause and cheers as the smart work landed.
There was always tension given the speed with which Ruiz's gold gloves can move, and in the eighth he served up a first scare. As the pair tangled, Ruiz made things ugly and winged in a hook. The crowd stamped their feet while Ruiz's fighting compatriot Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez stood and screamed ringside.
The ninth felt key, Joshua needed to establish distance again. He landed a solid uppercut but saw Ruiz fire back wildly instantly. Again, the incredible durability of the champion and the constant threat he carried was evident.
Deep in the 12th, Ruiz beat his chest as if to dare Joshua close. After a night of lateral movement and poise, it was never going to happen. Joshua glared out at the crowd as the bell sounded. It was a look of a defiance. It was the look of a man who had proved his point.
TOO MUCH WEIGHT
Joshua had shown with his preparations, however, that he meant business -- stepping into the ring lighter than ever and more than three stones less than Ruiz who had weighed in considerably heavier than in their first showdown.
The contrast between the two men was a talking point before the fight, with one British boxing writer noting that while Joshua sported a six-pack, his opponent appeared to have consumed one.
Ruiz, embraced by Joshua afterwards, said he would do it differently next time.
"I think I didn't prepare it how I should have. I gained too much weight but I don't want to give no excuses. He won, he boxed me around," he said.
"If we do the third, I'm going to get in the best shape of my life."
RUIZ WEIGHT GAIN
Some seeing Ruiz's showing here will ask what was wrong with Joshua in their first meeting - the Mexican was never able to rediscover the heights he hit in New York.
His weight gain of 15lb was the same as James 'Buster' Douglas piled on after stunning Mike Tyson in 1990. Douglas lost easily to Holyfield months later and as the scorecards widened on Saturday and Ruiz ate shots, it looked as if his new status and its attached distractions might have taken a similar toll.
Hauling 20st 3lb around a ring is no easy feat. Only Nikolai Valuev - who was 7ft tall - has weighed more and held a world title. And as Saudi royalty watched on at ringside, Ruiz was consistently unpicked and outmanoeuvred.
He will at least leave with a career-high pay day in excess of £10m. He can live the rest of his life as a former world champion who stunned boxing. But if he shoots for titles again, he will simply need to be better.
OTHER BOUTS
On the undercard, American Michael Hunter and Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin fought to a draw in their WBA heavyweight eliminator.
British heavyweight Dillian 'The Body Snatcher' Whyte beat Poland's former world title challenger Mariusz Wach on a unanimous points decision.
"I've been through hell these last couple of months, but we're here and back," said the 31-year-old Whyte who was provisionally suspended in July over an irregular urine supply but cleared by the UK Anti-Doping agency on Friday.
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