Andy Ruiz Jr has outlined the keys to victory for both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, who are expected to collide in a long-awaited showdown later this year.
First, the two British heavyweights must complete their respective warm-up fights against Mariusz Wach and Kristian Prenga, who have been purposely selected as low-risk opponents.
Yet it is not so much the danger of losing, but rather the risk of either man sustaining an injury or cut, that has added a slice of jeopardy to their domestic dustup.
Nevertheless, Fury has arranged to meet the 46-year-old Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, on July 24.
Despite unanimously outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, the ‘Gypsy King’ clearly felt an urge to bank further rounds against the Polish veteran, who suffered a particularly devastating second-round stoppage defeat to Moses Itauma in 2024.
Joshua, meanwhile, will face unproven heavyweight Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the following day, entering his first outing since scoring a sixth-round finish over Jake Paul in December.
But regardless of these warm-up fights, Ruiz has told talkSPORT that he can see outcomes where either Fury or ‘AJ’ emerges victorious in their potential all-British clash.
“It’s going to be a good fight. If Tyson Fury gets in Joshua’s head and boxes around, moves around, throws his combinations, maybe it could affect Anthony Joshua.
“But if Anthony Joshua goes in there and starts banging out with Tyson Fury, he could probably win. It only takes one punch to change the whole fight.”
Ruiz famously dethroned Joshua with a stunning seventh-round stoppage in 2019, only to lose his unified crown in their immediate rematch later that year.
