Anthony Joshua is certain he could’ve continued in the seventh round against Andy Ruiz Jr.
The former heavyweight champion still doesn’t blame referee Michael Griffin for stopping their fight too soon. Joshua gave his assessment Thursday of what happened once he got up from the second knockdown he suffered during the seventh round, the fourth time Ruiz sent him to the canvas overall June 1 at Madison Square Garden.
“So, the mouthpiece comes out, you go to the corner,” Joshua explained before a press conference in Manhattan to promote their rematch December 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. “You know, I think the referee had already done his [eight] count. So, I’m in the corner now and then they put the mouthguard in. Or you rinse it, and they say, ‘Are you ready to fight?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ So, before my mouthpiece was even in my mouth, he had called off the fight. So, I’m like looking at him. ‘You haven’t even put my mouthpiece in? What you want me to do? Yeah, I’m ready,’ and walk out without my mouthpiece in. So, I and he had a miscommunication.
Joshua lost his mouthpiece prior to dropping to one knee with 1:58 to go in the seventh round. Once the fatigued Englishman got up, Joshua walked to his own corner, turned around, and with his back resting against his corner, spread his arms to rest them on the top rope.
Canada’s Griffin told Joshua, “Hey! Hey! Turn around. You’re not on a break. Let’s go!” He then asked Joshua, “You ready to box?”
Joshua shook his head affirmatively and mouthed, “Yeah.” Griffin still waved an end to the fight.
When he realized Griffin stopped it, an exhausted Joshua exclaimed, “What do you mean?”
Joshua was bleeding from his nose and still was without his mouthpiece when Griffin stopped their scheduled 12-rounder 1:27 into the seventh round. Approximately 25 seconds elapsed from the time Joshua went down that fourth time until Griffin stopped the fight.
While he disagrees with Griffin’s decision, Joshua avoided criticizing him.
“I always said when I was winning, in the amateurs and in the pros, I always say my job is to fight,” Joshua said. “If you listen to what I say, my job is to fight, the referee’s job is to the ref and the judges’ job is to judge. So, that’s his call. So be it. And next time, it’s not my duty to leave it down to the ref. I’ll go out there and do my business – take it out of their hands. That’s what I’m saying.”
The referee for the immediate rematch between Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) and Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) hasn’t been chosen. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, confirmed Thursday that their contracts guarantee that the referee assigned to it cannot hail from the United Kingdom or the United States.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
