Marc Leder – Just How Important Is Anthony Joshua’s Next Fight?

Today we are going to place heavy focus on next week’s big fight between Anthony Joshua and Andre Ruiz, the rematch which many of us thought we didn’t need, that is taking place in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia this Saturday. To help us assess how things may work out based on the result of the fight we have the brilliant Marc Leder, good friend and boing expert who has been discussing what the fall out of this fight may look like.

Prior to the first fight with Ruiz, Joshua’s star was at an all time high and many were eagerly waiting his bout against Deontay Wilder. Joshua and Wilder couldn’t get the deal done so Ruiz stepped in for Joshua and Wilder went on to fight Tyson Fury. Joshua was knocked out by Ruiz in what was considered a sick result, which is why this fight is so important.

If He Loses

If Anthony Joshua once again loses the fight against Ruiz then that will be two loses against the Mexican fighter, and Joshuas chances of getting his belts back put on hold for some time. Joshua will have to go further down the list of challengers and go through the next two years picking off some other names on the list, as he awaits his seat at the top table once again. A loss for a fighter is not the end of the world of course, but back to back losses against a fighter many consider to be of a lower standard than Joshua, well that is going to take some serious coming back from.

If He Wins

If Joshua wins then the first Ruiz fight will be considered a blip, much like Tyson and Lennox Lewis, who both lost fights on their way to greatness. Winning this match would mean that Joshua gets his belts back, and he won’t have to fight Ruiz for a trilogy as there is nothing of that nature built into the contract. What this will mean then is that a fight against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder will have to happen in 2020. Fury and Wilder fight first in April next year, and the winner of that fight will surely have to fight Joshua to unify the belts. If Joshua and Wilder can’t get that fight done then it may well be that we have a clash of British heavyweights in Fury and Joshua towards the end of next year, which will then pave the way for a Fury and Wilder trilogy fight, or the long awaited battle between Wilder and Joshua.

To say that Joshua’s career is on the line in this fight is probably just a step too far given that he is still young and clearly talented. What this fight does mean however is that Joshua either carries on this upward trajectory he has been on since bursting on the scene, or stepping back for a while to rebuild his foundation. An important fight nonetheless.

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