26 December 2023 , 16:02
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Andy Ruiz Jr was brutally told that Anthony Joshua has no interest in fighting him again after his stunning win against Otto Wallin.
Joshua picked up his third win of the year by beating up Wallin for five rounds before the Swede's corner pulled him out of their fight last weekend in Saudi Arabia. 'AJ' was expected to fight Deontay Wilder next but their two-fight deal is now seemingly off the table after Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker just before Joshua's fight took place.
Ruiz was ringside for the event in Riyadh and congratulated Joshua after he beat Wallin. The Mexican-American handed Joshua his first professional loss on short notice when they fought in 2019 as the Brit avenged his defeat and won back his world titles later that year. Ruiz is now interested in fighting 'AJ' again but Derek Chisora seems to think Joshua doesn't feel the same way about the trilogy.
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"I just wanted to see if AJ wanted to run it back and get the trilogy, but maybe not," Ruiz told iFL TV. Chisora then replied: "I will tell you right now. You are not on Joshua's radar. He’s fighting [Filip] Hrgovic right now for the IBF. He wants to be a three-time world champion. He’s not going to fight you. You’re not on his radar. I’ll be honest with you, do you understand?"
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Joshua will likely get the chance to call himself a third-time world champion by facing Hrgovic for the IBF belt in his next fight. Hrgovic was in action on the undercard of Joshua's win against Helenius as he stopped Mark De Mori in the biggest mismatch of the blockbuster event.
Ruiz hasn't fought since winning a decision against Luis Ortiz last September, with a shoulder injury that required surgery delaying his return. The 34-year-old remained complimentary of Joshua's win but insisted that he wasn't impressed because the Brit was expected to make easy work of Wallin.
"What kind of reaction do you want? It's an opponent that he is supposed to beat up, somebody that doesn't have a lot of skills. I would like to see him fight an opponent that has a lot of skills, somebody like me," Ruiz told Boxing News. "He did what he has to do, so salute to Anthony Joshua. I hope they give me the opportunity [to fight him again]."