Adesanya blueprint: Anthony Joshua needs to knock out Andy Ruiz to be whole again

As Adesanya’s resounding victory proved, there is nothing better than facing and vanquishing one’s demons, a lesson Anthony Joshua needs to heed.

The Easter theme of victory from defeat was in effect as Israel Adesanya reclaimed his UFC welterweight title from Alex Pereira on Sunday morning. In avenging his knockout loss to ‘Poatan’, the Nigerian-born New Zealander once more re-entered the mixed martial arts pound-for-pound conversation, not only for the fact of winning, but for the manner in which he overcame an opponent who had come to be seen as his kryptonite.

The second round knockout had a finality to it, and was executed with consummate deliberation. Most would seek to avoid their bogeymen; Adesanya lured his in and, with two chopping right hands, nailed him to the mat. The arrows to the heart afterward, though purely cosmetic, encapsulated the mindset with which he had approached the rematch, and answered any lingering questions as to his killer instinct.

Israel Adesanya knocks out Alex Pereira to become 2-time Middleweight champion

On the other side of the pond, compatriot Anthony Joshua could learn a thing or two.

The former unified heavyweight champion of the world rebounded from consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk by out-pointing Jermaine Franklin last weekend. While it was important for the British-Nigerian to get back into the winners’ bracket, the manner of the result has been fiercely criticised in many quarters, as the boxing public expected a highlight reel knockout. 

However, considering Joshua was breaking in a new trainer and was facing an opponent in Franklin who had never been down in his career and who gave Dilian Whyte all he could handle in his last fight, it always seemed an unrealistic expectation. In any case, in the cold light of day, it is clear that ‘AJ’ fought at a strong level, flicking an educated jab, showing new weapons (most notably level changes and lateral movement) and pitching a near shutout. In the end, despite Joshua coming in at a career heaviest weight, it was his opponent who ran out of gas late on and resorted to holding and hanging on to avoid a stoppage.

It seems that, when it comes to the 33-year-old, expectation is always dialled up to 100. While this is to be expected of a former unified champion, it is odd that the same level of scrutiny is rarely, if ever, turned onto his contemporaries. It is quite clear now that, regardless, Joshua may never get a fair shake and, going by the change in his public demeanour, that is a reality that is starting to dawn on the fighter himself.

That said, if there is any defiance at all left in him, he needs to fight Andy Ruiz Jr before 2023 is out.

It was against Ruiz that Joshua suffered the first defeat of his professional career, an upset loss in Madison Square Garden that did untold damage to his perception and legacy. On his big US debut and under the hot lights of the most iconic boxing arena in the world, AJ was stunned in the pocket by the Mexican and dropped. He never recovered his equilibrium on the night and it is arguable that, even today, he has yet to find himself. On that night, something left him.

He rebounded by winning the rematch by wide unanimous decision, exposing Ruiz’s limitations when forced to fight at long range, but the exciting, ultra-physical, aggressive Joshua has never quite returned. While his desire to transition to more of a pure boxer style arguably preceded that first defeat (there was a clear emphasis on that in the victory over Joseph Parker), it has become even more pronounced since, culminating in his puzzling and predictably doomed approach against former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk. 

His desire to box with a technically accomplished but smaller opponent was widely panned, and for good reason. Even with marginal improvements in the rematch, the overall strategy still proved flawed, and Usyk easily retained.

The popular diagnosis is that losing the way he did to Ruiz has made Joshua hesitant to engage at close quarters, keen to protect a chin many perceive to be weak. Part of that claim does not stand up to scrutiny (AJ has been down fewer times in his career than both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, neither of whom is considered ‘chinny’ in the same way), but there is something to be said for the mental toll of that loss. This is why it makes all the sense in the world for a third fight to be scheduled between them.

Aside from the fact they are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head, a knockout win over Ruiz would do wonders for Joshua, in much the same way that Adesanya flooring Pereira has done for him. Like all humans, even the best fighters have doubts; only by answering those doubts in the ring can they truly be whole. The public doubt ahead of the Ruiz rematch was whether Joshua had the boxing IQ and gas tank to keep away from the Mexican’s fast hands. In slimming down and boxing on his toes for 12 rounds, the Brit answered the public’s doubts, but not his own. He regained the belts, but he was never whole again.

Now under the tutelage of Derrick James, AJ is making one last push to be a champion again. He may yet do it; certainly the portents look promising on the basis of one fight. That said, whatever happens, nothing would do Joshua more good than reminding himself he can still hurt and finish people. And no scalp will be better than that of the man who planted the seed of doubt to begin with. If he never claps Ruiz’s lights out, we may never see a world-beating version of Anthony Joshua again.

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