In front of a sold out crowd of 20,201 at Madison Square Garden and live on DAZN, Andy Ruiz, Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) made boxing history by defeating heavyweight king Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) in his United States debut. Ruiz, Jr. captured Joshua’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO World Heavyweight Championship titles in a thrilling upset that ended by technical knockout in the seventh round.
In the co-feature fight of the stacked undercard, undefeated WBA Super Middleweight World Champion Callum Smith (26-0, 19 KOs) successfully defended his title for the first time against former Middleweight World Champion Hassan N’Dam (37-4, 21 KOs). Katie Taylor (14-0, 6 KOs) and Delfine Persoon (43-2, 18 KOs) put on a show which the newly crowned undisputed World Female Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor called, “a fantastic showcase for women’s boxing.” Taylor narrowly defeated Persoon to capture the final piece of the lightweight title.
Earlier in the evening, Josh Kelly (9-0-1, 6 KOs) faced Ray Robinson (24-3-2, 12 KOs) in a back-and-forth affair that resulted in a majority draw. Joshua Buatsi (11-0, 9 KOs) put on an impressive performance during his U.S. debut against Marco Antonio Periban (25-5-1, 16 KOs), stopping the more experienced contender in the fourth round via technical knockout. In the opening bout of the evening, former World Champion Chris Algieri (24-3, 9 KOs) bested Tommy Coyle (25-5, 12 KOs) via technical knockout in a super lightweight contest.
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Joshua vs. Ruiz Fight Card Results
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.
Andy Ruiz Jr (33-1, 22 KOs) pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing as he sopped the former unified Heavyweight champion of the Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs). It was an absolute beating dished out by Ruiz Jr. as he is now the official Heavyweight champion.
Callum Smith vs. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam
WBA Super Middleweight champion Callum Smith (26-0, 19 KOs) brutalized and ultimately stopped Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (37-4, 21 KOs) at Madison Square Garden. Smith dropped his man in rounds one, two and three. The referee stepped in to put a halt to the contest as N’Dam was on his way to an even worse beating. With the win, Smith has firmly placed himself ahead of the pack as the next man up for Canelo Alvarez.
Chris Algieri vs. Tommy Coyle
Chris Algieri (24-3, 9 KOs) continued his winning ways as he stopped Tommy Coyle (25-5, 12 KOs) on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz. It was a tougher than expected bout for the first initial rounds but it was all Algieri coming down the stretch. Coyle did a good job of landing big shots in the early portion of the contest. As the rounds progressed Algieri looked like a bloody mess. It was a terrific back and forth contest but Algieri really pulled ahead down the stretch as he started to walk down the much smaller Coyle and forced the stoppage.
Katie Taylor vs. Delfine Persoon
It was an all out war but Katie Taylor (14-0, 6 KOs) won a close and somewhat controversial decision over Delfine Person (43-2, 18 KOs) at Madison Square Garden. Both women hurled plenty of punches towards one another but it was Persoon who seemingly held the edge. She pushed Taylor back for the majority of the rounds and had her in big trouble in the final round. In the end the judges scored the contest close but in favor of Taylor. The scorecards read 95-95 and 96-94 twice in favor of the unified champion Katie Taylor
Josh Kelly vs. Ray Robinson
Both Josh Kelly and Ray Robinson battled to majority draw as neither man did enough to warrant a decision. One judge scored it in favor of Kelly with a 96-95 scorecard while the remaining two judges scored it 95-95. It was close throughout but neither man stepped on the gas in order to press the action. Instead they both seemed content sticking on the outside. In the end both men will be going back to thee drawing board after a disappointing performance.
Joshua Buatsi vs. Marco Antonio Periban
In what was originally scheduled to be a 10 round fight, Joshua Buatsi (11-0, 9 KOs) made quick work of Marco Antonio Periban (25-5-1, 16 KOs). It was a right hand by Buatsi that caused that caused much of the damage and forced his man to take a knee. Periiban managed to get up but the onslaught continued and the reefereee was forced to step in and put a halt to the contest.
Austin Williams vs. Quadeer Jenkins
Austin Williams (2-0, 2 KOs) picked up his second straight win as a professional as he once again scored a first round knockout win. This time it was at the expense of Quadeer Jenkins (0-1).
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