Anthony Joshua is the latest victim of the infamous Drake curse. Andy Ruiz Jr pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history by toppling Joshua.
Joshua, the previously undefeated heavyweight champion, entered the fight as the overwhelming favorite but it all went pear-shaped for the Brit.
Ruiz Jr took control in the third round with two devastating knockdowns before the bout was halted in the seventh round.
Andy F—ING RUIZ JR. #JoshuaRuiz pic.twitter.com/bjjNhWlbTD
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 2, 2019
???@Andy_destroyer1 hace historia y se convierte en el primer boxeador mexicano en ser campeón mundial de los pesos pesados ???#JoshuaRuiz pic.twitter.com/O2oYeELyK9
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 2, 2019
Bout to break the curse ? #June1st pic.twitter.com/UIh3ILUfrE
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) March 21, 2019
“I’m still pinching myself to see if this is real,” Ruiz said in his post-fight press conference. “Wow. This is amazing. This is amazing. What do you know? I just shocked the world, and I’m the first Mexican heavyweight champion.”
Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), who got up off the canvas as a substantial betting underdog to floor Joshua four times en route to a seventh-round TKO, reminded a sold-out crowd just how unpredictable boxing’s glamour division can still be by dismantling the sport’s biggest global star in Cinderella fashion.
“Mom, I love you and our lives are going to change,” Ruiz said. “We won’t have to struggle no more thanks to God. Everything happened for a reason. Everyone has been doubting me from the beginning. Nobody thought I was going to win, nobody did. But whoever bet on me is going to win some serious money.”
Joshua’s loss to Ruiz is already being viewed as one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.
Joshua has an automatic rematch clause and will use it as early as November. All the talks about a mega fight with Wilder are temporarily on hold. Wilder took to Twitter to comment on Joshua’s performance.
He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts.
Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!#TilThisDay— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 2, 2019
The worst thing you can do in life is Fucking Quit!!
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 2, 2019
Drake has been the symbol of a lot of recent sports failures.
The #DrakeCurse has seriously reached Final Destination levels of inevitability. It may not get you today, tomorrow, or your immediate fight… But it will get you in the end! #JoshuaRuiz pic.twitter.com/rc0CA3P2H4
— Kel Dansby (@KelDansby) June 2, 2019
If the curse stays the course, the Toronto Raptors will be next.