Andy Ruiz Jr produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of heavyweight boxing to rip Anthony Joshua’s IBF, WBO and WBA world heavyweight titles from him and tear up the division’s proposed plot lines.
In a truly remarkable fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Ruiz floored Joshua four times en route to a seventh-round stoppage which stunned this famous arena and handed the Briton his first defeat.
Joshua was a 1-25 favourite with bookmakers and will now join the likes of Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson as dominant champions to suffer losses which brought the sport to a standstill.
“I got beaten by a good fighter,” said Joshua on Sky Sports. “It will be interesting to see how far he goes, but this is all part of the journey.
“He’s a champion for now, I shall return.”
This was no fluke, no punch from the ages, it was the breakdown of a fighter who looked shattered from an early stage.
