Andy Ruiz Jr has shared his thoughts on a potential clash between former rival Anthony Joshua and Hall of Famer Andre Ward.
The 41-year-old from San Francisco, California has not fought as a professional since he defeat Sergey Kovalev via eighth round stoppage in their much anticipated rematch back in June of 2017, successfully defending his unified WBA, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight titles in the process.
As for Joshua, the former unified heavyweight champion is yet to make a return to the ring since suffering a fifth round stoppage defeat to fellow countryman and former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September.
Speaking to Fight Hype, Ruiz – who beat ‘AJ’ in a sensational upset back in 2019 but lost via decision in a rematch six months later – sent a word of warning to Ward ahead of a potential showdown with the Brit, even believing Jake Paul actually has a better shot of defeating the 35-year-old Brit.
“Everybody wants to fight Anthony Joshua, I think because of the blueprint that he has now, you know I feel everybody thinks that they could beat him, that he’s an easy opponent, that he can’t take hits no more, but he’s still a dangerous fighter, he’s a heavyweight. I don’t know Andre Ward fighting Anthony Joshua, I think that’s a hard fight. ”
“Jake Paul, I think that’s actually a little better, shout out to Jake Paul man, nobody’s doing it like him. Probably because he’s been active, he’s bigger. he’s taller, he’s a natural heavyweight you know.”
Paul made his most recent ring appearance back in June, defeating Mexico’s former WBC world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim on June 28.
