By Minnie Larry
Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) lived up to his moniker, by destroying Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) to become the first Mexican-American Heavyweight Champion of the World Saturday night inside the famed Madison Square Garden Arena, in New York City, New York.
In the 3rd round, the mostly British crowd cheered when Joshua’s right uppercut sent Ruiz down. However, mere seconds later, Ruiz landed an overhand right sending the former champ collapsing to the canvas himself. Joshua would go down for a second time in the 3rd after Ruiz unloaded a combo, reducing the British powerhouse back down to the mat.
By the 7th, a sapped Joshua, tumbled two additional times, by way of “the Destroyer” back to back combos delivered. Joshua appeared lost when the referee asked him if he could continue. Rightfully, referee Michael Griffin stopped the fight bringing a shocking end to Joshua’s American debut.
After the fight, Ruiz credited God and his “Mexican Style” for his stunning upset. The time 1:27 of the 7th round.
In other action:
Katie Taylor (14-0, 6 KOs) became the unified WBA, IBF and WBO World Lightweight champion, after a blistering win against what could be dubbed her fiercest opponent to date, Delfine Persoon (43- 2, 18KOs). The ladies’ battle bruised faces bared the marks of a fierce back and forth between the lightweights.
The typical slow to start Persoon stepped on the gas early on, never letting up throughout the bout. Persoon used her size advantage to lay on the smaller Taylor which eventually wore on Taylor. In the later rounds, Persoon landed the cleaner shots seemingly taking over the fight.
However, to the surprise of many, Taylor gained the majority decision 96-94, 96-94 and 95-95.
The welterweight clash between Englishman, Josh “Pretty Boy” Kelly (9-0-1, 6 KOs) and Philly bred, “The New” Ray Robinson (24-3-2, 12KOs) ended in a 10 round draw. Kelly could not figure out the southpaw and several shots caught him by surprise. Scores were 96-95 Kelly, and 95-95×2.
Joshua Buatsi (11-0, 9 KOs) won by TKO over Marco Antonio Periban (25-5-1, 12 KOs) in a light heavyweight bout. Periban never stood a chance as the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist pounded Buatsi into submission in round 4. Time was 1:39.
Chris Algieri (24-3, 9 KOs) scored a technical decision over Tommy Coyle (25-5, 12 KOs).
