Professional boxing’s heavyweight division has a host of classic upsets over the years. Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, Hasim Rahman stunning Lennox Lewis, Corey Sanders beating Wladimir Klitschko.
Ruiz upsets Joshua: ‘Everybody that bet on me is gonna make some serious money’
Boxing had its biggest upset in 16 years.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
We can now add Andy Ruiz’s shocking upset of Anthony Joshua to the list.
Ruiz knocked down Joshua four times on Saturday evening and led on two of the three scorecards when referee Michael Griffin stopped the fight in the seventh round. Ruiz walked away with three of the four major title belts and standing atop the heavyweight division.
Ruiz entered the fight as high as +1330 (a shade over 13/1) at PointsBet Sportsbook to defeat Joshua, while Joshua was as high as -5000 (1/50) to win the fight. A vast majority of wagers were placed on the underdog at William Hill locations across the country, but 90 percent of the money bet was on Joshua.
This was not the biggest upset in boxing history, but it is the most notable in recent memory and joins the short list of all-time upsets. Buster Douglas’ tenth round knockout of Mike Tyson ranks as the biggest upset in the sport’s history at 42/1. Since the turn of the century, we’ve seen two significant upsets in the heavyweight division. In 2001, Lennox Lewis faced Hasim Rahman in a tune-up for an eventual showdown with Tyson. However, Rahman shocked the world as a 20/1 underdog with a fifth round knockout of Lewis. Two years later, Wladimir Klitschko was developing into the top-ranked heavyweight in the world when 20/1 underdog Corrie Sanders exposed his chin with a second round knockout.
After the fight Andy Ruiz acknowledged the significance of his upset in the post-fight press conference. More importantly, he offered a shoutout to those who had risked their money on him.
The fight contract included a rematch clause for Joshua, and the now former heavyweight champion is expected to exercise it. If he does formally exercise the clause, it’s safe to say Ruiz will not be a 12/1 underdog.
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