BOXING fans claimed Andy Ruiz Jr absorbed the exact same brutal punch from Anthony Joshua that knocked out Francis Ngannou.
Joshua finished Ngannou after three knockdowns and one final ruthless right hand.
GettyFrancis Ngannou was knocked out by an Anthony Joshua right hand[/caption]
Sky Sports via X formerly TwitterThe same right hand was absorbed by Andy Ruiz Jr[/caption]
But users on social media pointed out that it was similar to the same shot that AJ landed on Ruiz after flooring him in their 2019 bout.
Ruiz took the shot and moments later dropped Joshua himself before setting up a famous upset victory.
And fans were quick to point out the similarities in the two incidents.
One said: “Same punch that killed Francis Ngannou for a couple mins Andy Ruiz ate like it was a hamburger & caught Joshua w/ his own shot. Boxers have better chins too. Boxing rules the UFC.”
Another added: “Ruiz got an iron chin.”
At the time of Joshua’s KO blow to Ngannou, the ex-UFC champion had already been down twice before.
Whereas Ruiz – who later lost the rematch to Joshua – had been floored with a left hook.
So fans were quick to defend Ngannou as one argued: “This difference is in perception and reaction time.
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“Ruiz probably knew it was coming even when he got hit. Ngannou never saw it.”
Another hit back: “Absolute rubbish. One was a follow up on a temple shot knockdown that almost finished the fight.
“He was badly hurt before he ate this shot.”
Ngannou was KO’d for the first time in his MMA and boxing career but joked he could not even feel the finishing shot.
He said: “That was a clean one.
“In fact, I didn’t feel the punch. That’s what the knockout is about. I don’t feel any pain.
“That’s how I know I was knocked out. It was quite special because it stopped me. It did what Tyson Fury couldn’t do.”
GettyJoshua knocked out Ngannou in round two[/caption]