Andy Ruiz Jr performs U-turn on Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury prediction

Andy Ruiz Jr has changed his mind on who he believes will get their hand raised when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury eventually collide.

The British heavyweight titans are on course to finally meet each other at the back end of the year in a fight that has been almost a decade in the making.

The closest the bitter rivals came to locking horns was back in 2021, when both men were at the peak of their powers and held all four major sanctioning body belts between them.

In August of that year, an agreement was reached for a two-fight deal, but those plans were derailed when a judge in a US court ruled that Deontay Wilder was entitled to a third fight with Fury.

At the time, Ruiz Jr felt Fury’s ‘awkward style’ would be too much for Joshua.

However, the former unified heavyweight champion is now backing his old rival to get the job done five years later.

“If it was him and Tyson Fury, I think Anthony Joshua would win, I think he could take him out,” Ruiz Jr told Casino.org.

“If he pressures him and doesn’t let Tyson Fury box around and play his little games that he wants to play, then I think Joshua could win.”

What did Andy Ruiz Jr say about the fight five years ago?

This comes after Ruiz told Little Giant Boxing in 2021: “I think that it’s gonna be an interesting fight.

“I fought Anthony Joshua, I haven’t fought Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury has a real style; he’s tall, he fights tall.

“I kinda see Tyson Fury winning that fight. I wasn’t too impressed with Anthony Joshua’s last performance, but he got the job done.

“I think maybe Tyson Fury might get him, depends how awkward he is.

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“If he boxes – Anthony hasn’t fought anybody that boxes around and moves around, so we’ll see.”

Anthony Joshua’s history with Andy Ruiz Jr

There are few people better placed to give their opinion on a Joshua fight than Ruiz Jr.

After all, the Mexican-American has shared the ring with AJ twice.

Ruiz Jr stunned the boxing world in June 2019 when he came in on short notice and knocked out Joshua at Madison Square Garden.

However, he fell to a unanimous decision defeat in a rematch six months later.

With the rivalry tied at one apiece, Ruiz Jr is pursuing a rubber match to settle his score with Joshua once and for all.

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“I think there has to be a trilogy with ‘AJ’,” Ruiz Jr added.

“His life changed when we fought, and my life changed when we fought.

“I beat him; he only beat me [in the rematch] because I let him. I let him hit me in the second fight because I was an idiot; I should have taken that fight more seriously.

“I’m not gonna go out there and force him or push it. But I think it would be a good fight for both of us to come back. But I’ll definitely beat him, 100 per cent.”

Boxing schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.