ANTHONY Joshua says he needs to be more intelligent in his rematch with Andy Ruiz and expose the weaknesses he knows exist in the heavyweight champion’s game.
The pair meet for the second time on 7 December as Joshua will try to reclaim the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles he lost on 1 June in New York. Ruiz stopped the 2012 Olympic champion in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in a monumental upset to claim the four straps, but AJ insists he does not need to make huge changes for the rematches, but be a bit smarter.
‘‘I don’t think a little blip should change you as a person, I think you should remain consistent with who you are,’’ Joshua told Sky Sports.
‘‘It’s funny because I’ll see him more this week than I ever did in the build-up to the first fight so I can become a bit more familiar with him. I know what I’m in for, I know what I’m capable of and what he’s capable of.
‘‘I know some of the attributes he possesses, and some of the weaknesses. I have to go about exposing him that little bit more. The first time I had him down [in the first fight], I could have been smarter. These little things you think about in your head.
‘‘Now I’m meeting him eye-to-eye once again, subconsciously the clock’s ticking and I’m thinking more and more about the fight and soon it will be 7 December.’’
