Former Opponent Explains Why Anthony Joshua Will KO Tyson Fury In Upcoming Match
Andy Ruiz Jr. picked Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their signed all-British heavyweight clash set for late 2026. He tied the prediction to Joshua sticking with his current training setup alongside Oleksandr Usyk.
Andy Ruiz on Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury
Fury kicked off talk of the matchup right after his comeback win. On April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he took a unanimous decision over Arslanbek Makhmudov, scoring 120-108 twice and 119-109 across 12 rounds. Joshua sat ringside, and Fury grabbed the mic post-fight to call him out directly. Joshua shot back that he would say when ready. Promoters sealed the deal soon after, with Eddie Hearn posting “Signed, sealed and delivered! AJ vs Fury is on!” No exact date or spot landed yet, though Wembley Stadium or Dublin’s Croke Park sit high on lists for Q4.
Ruiz laid out his take in a recent interview with CanadaSportsBetting.ca, he said: “I think from the performance that I’ve seen in his last fight, if Joshua prepares really well and he continues to keep training with Usyk, I think he could beat Tyson,” he said. He pointed to Joshua’s recent sessions in Ukraine, where Usyk overhauled his routine with footwork drills, cognitive tests, swimming, and cycling for better stamina. Ruiz added a heavyweight reality check: “But you never know in these heavyweight division fights. It only takes one punch and that could change the whole fight. So it’s definitely gonna be an interesting fight.”
Ruiz reacted to Fury’s ring return with straight talk. “I’m pretty sure he was trying to get the knockout, but sometimes the knockouts come and sometimes they don’t. The most important thing is that he won, he got in the ring and he’s back. He is out of retirement,” Ruiz noted. Fury controlled Makhmudov after early pressure, landing uppercuts in round eight while the Russian tired fast. Ruiz wrapped with his own angle: “But I would love to fight either of them as well.”
The bout caps years of near-misses between Joshua and Fury. Joshua preps with a July 25 tune-up against Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia first. Ruiz, who upset Joshua in 2019 before dropping the rematch, keeps pushing for their trilogy while staying ready at 35-2-1. Fighters eye spots on the undercard or next after, as Riyadh Season backs the event on Netflix.
