Anthony Joshua sparring partner Joey Dawejko has revealed a pre-fight exchange between the pair before the Andy Ruiz Jr. fight on June 1st.
Dawejko, who hurt Joshua in a training session in the build-up, warned the Briton to be wary of Ruiz potentially causing his problems.
Eventually, Ruiz would drop Joshua four times at Madison Square Garden. In the process taking his world title belts.
Outlining his initial thoughts on the match-up, Dawejko had first-hand knowledge of the man who became Mexico’s maiden heavyweight champion.
“I always knew Andy Ruiz had skills. I was in the gym with him. I’ve sparred with him, I’ve seen it, I knew and I understood,’ Dawejko told FightHype.
“It wasn’t too big of a shock to me. You can go back and see any interview before the fight. I was always saying Ruiz would give him some trouble starting out, just because of his style.
“And when I was in camp with Joshua I told him that. I’m not surprised but it’s a big shock to everybody else, I didn’t call it, I’m not saying I called it, but I wasn’t surprised about it.
“I thought Joshua would be able to stay in there and wear him down and go on to get the decision or stop him late. But props to Andy Ruiz, I’ve proud of him, he shocked the world, for real.”
DEDICATED
On whether Joshua took Ruiz seriously enough, Dawejko added: “Yeah, absolutely, this guy is 100 percent motivated. He works hard every day, I saw it.
“Everybody was saying he was out on the beach in Miami doing this and that, living life and all that. This dude is so dedicated.
“The media makes people believe things that aren’t true. I don’t think he took Andy Ruiz lightly, not even a little bit. He’s not that kind of fighter.
“Anthony works hard, he’s 100 percent dedicated. He’s a good person,” concluded the Philadelphian.
In an eye-opening move, Joshua’s promoter moved to hand Dawejko a lucrative spot on a forthcoming bill.
Conspiracy theorists believe it was as a direct result of the sparring incident as Dawejko is pitted against Murat Gassiev later this month.
Should Dawejko win and Joshua lose again to Ruiz, who knows whether the training partners will go on to share a ring for real?
