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Anthony Joshua insists Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk are not the hardest punchers he’s shared the ring with, despite them being the only men to beat him in his professional career.
Ruiz floored the British superstar four times and stopped him when they first clashed in 2019, but AJ insists Wladimir Klitschko hit him harder when he was floored by the heavyweight legend in their 2017 battle.
When asked the question on the Pound For Pound Podcast, Joshua hesitated and then replied: “Who’s hit me the hardest? Yeah, Klitschko.
“I was going to say Ruiz, but when he hit me that was like a concussion on the back of my head.
“When I went in with Klitschko, yeah, I just knew this could go two ways.
“I could either win or I’m going to be laid out on my back. You know when you get carried out on a stretcher?”
AJ eventually stopped Klitschko in round eleven after a hectic couple of middle rounds in which he exchanged knockdowns with the legendary champion.
Joshua put the Ukrainian down in the fifth before being flattened by a cataclysmic right hand three minutes later.
Referencing that famous punch, he continued: “It was the 15 that came after that as well. This guy’s a beast, he’s a beast.“
Following his rematch win over Ruiz Jr, Joshua saw off Kubrat Pulev last December to retain his heavyweight titles.
He was then beaten by Usyk last time out and will rematch the Ukrainian on August 20.
