Anthony Joshua Rematch With Andy Ruiz Jr Is ‘Worst Thing He Can Do’ – Khan

DANIEL BLACKHAM

Anthony Joshua agreeing an immediate rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr would be the “worst thing he could do” after losing his first defeat by knockout.

That’s the opinion of Amir Khan, who believes the Brit needs to fight twice more before challenging for his old belts.

Anthony Joshua lost his WBA, WBO and IBF world title straps to Ruiz in remarkable fashion at Madison Square Garden, New York, on Saturday. The former champion was knocked down four times during the fight, and was stopped on his feet in the seventh round.

Ruiz was brought in at late notice for drugs cheat Jarrell Miller just a month out from the fight, and was laughed at by many fans due to his physique. But after being dropped in round three, the Mexican got straight back up and unloaded his fast hands on ‘AJ’, dropping him twice in quick succession.

In the aftermath of the defeat, Joshua wasted no time in confirming he would activate the immediate rematch clause in the original contract, meaning Ruiz must defend his belts against their former owner in his next fight.

The return bout is expected to take place in the UK in either November or December this year, but Khan warned Joshua to stay away from ‘The Destroyer’.

“My advice to Anthony would be to just stay strong,” Khan told reporters on Thursday.

“I’ve heard he’s going to take a rematch back-to-back, I think that might be the worst thing he can do. He needs to build his confidence up.

“As a fighter you’re always going to have that in the back of your head that ‘oh, he beat me so how am I going to overcome this?’

“I think what he needs to do is get his confidence back up.

“He should have one or two good wins, knock the guys out, and then come back and fight Ruiz again.

“That’s if he’s [Ruiz] still world champion. World champion or not, I think people would still want to see that fight.”

Khan is set to return to the ring for the first time since his defeat to Terence Crawford, as he faces off against Pakistan’s Neeraj Goyat in Saudi Arabia on July 12.

Goyat, who has an unflattering record of 11-3-2, will take on ‘King Khan’ for a special version of the WBC welterweight belt.