Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz thinks that Anthony Joshua is finally starting to show the aggression that once defined his career, before he ran into a chunky power puncher with fast hands.

Ruiz was an athletic question mark before he dropped Joshua four times and stopped him to capture three heavyweight titles in their 2019 slugfest in Madison Square Garden. Joshua seemed to emerge from the first fight a little gun-shy, a little tentative. He won the rematch with Ruiz in a carefully calibrated, cautious performance, and his temperament seemed to be more safety-first than full-speed ahead. With two recent knockouts – including a whiplash, highlight-reel KO of Francis Ngannou – Joshua, Ruiz believes, is starting to regain his offensive-minded form.

“He’s getting his momentum back,” Ruiz said on Wednesday before a press conference in Manhattan, New York, to announce his bout with Jarrell Miller on Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, as part of a stacked card headlined by Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov. “He’s getting his confidence back. I think that’s the most important thing. He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. I think he’s doing his thing. I’m just happy for him. I would love to have that trilogy with him. He gave me that opportunity. I gave him back that opportunity, and there’s one more. I want to become a two-time heavyweight champion of the world.”

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Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) qualified his remarks by saying that Joshua’s offensive success could be due in part to his opponents. Joshua dominated a very skilled but somewhat unproven commodity in Otto Wallin last December in a fifth-round stoppage and then blasted out a boxing novice in Ngannou in March in just two rounds.

“AJ’s been doing good. He’s been taking out the guys that he’s supposed to,” Ruiz said. “I’m not saying they’re super-good opponents that have really good skills. I’m sure if he fought someone else that had more skills, that wanted to win the fight and aren’t just facing him for the payday or the exposure, they want to win the fight and do whatever it takes – and I feel that should be me,” he said with a chuckle. “I give it all I have. I die inside that ring. But he’s been doing good and he’s been doing his thing.”

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Ruiz hopes to return to the ring again in December following his bout with Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs). Ruiz hasn’t fought since he decked Luis Ortiz three times on his way to a unanimous decision in September 2022. Ruiz underwent surgery on a torn rotator cuff last year.

“I have to climb up the ladder again,” Ruiz said. “After I do these fights and get back into the groove, I’d love to fight Joseph Parker, [Deontay] Wilder and Joshua. The main thing is training and staying in shape. After this fight, I plan on training and training and come back in December.”

Andy Ruiz’s monumental upset win over Anthony Joshua will forever hold a place in boxing history.

Ruiz was a relative unknown in the boxing world, until he was thrust into the biggest opportunity of his life as a short-notice replacement for Jarrell Miller in a unified heavyweight world title clash against Anthony Joshua in June 2019 on AJ’s US debut.

The Mexican came in as an overwhelming underdog given little hope in the fight, but caused one of the biggest upsets in boxing history by dropping Joshua four times en route to a famous win in New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.

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It was a monumental achievement which was regularly compared to Buster Douglas’ phenomenal upset of Mike Tyson, and it was masterminded alongside trainer at the time Manny Robles.

In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com, Robles, who will work as a coach in the upcoming Team Combat League, has opened up about exactly how he believed five years ago that they could rewrite history inside the ‘Mecca of Boxing’, due to the perfect timing of the call.

He said: “It wasn’t really at short notice, what people don’t know is we were just coming off of a fight with Alexander Dimitrenko in LA.

“So we went through a full camp, and a week later we had the fight with Anthony Joshua.

“So we got back into the ring and the timing was perfect.

“We fought someone who was very similar to Joshua, a week later we then got the call for the huge fight against Joshua.

“So we had like a month in camp, but the hard work was already done as Dmitrenko was very similar to Joshua, a big strong and solid guy.

“The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and we were able to win the heavyweight championships of the world.

Seismic shockwaves travelled through the boxing world, after Ruiz was left bouncing around the ring in a famous celebration after defying all odds.

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Joshua was clearly not at his best, but the Mexican had shown defiance and a serious boxing skillset while carrying out a turgid game plan to capitalise on AJ’s weaknesses on the night.

Despite the defeat, the Briton was seriously gracious to Ruiz and his attitude helped earn him an immediate shot at redemption just several months later.

“People don’t know this, but to this day after that night I look up to Anthony Joshua,” he continued.

“He is a role model to people around the world, athletes and people in general. He is someone that kids should inspire to be like.

“He is such a gentleman outside of the ring, he is so humble. Even in defeat, he is humble enough to keep his head up.

Ruiz was unable to keep hold of the titles, having admitted he got carried away with celebrations and did not prepare adequately for the rematch in February 2020, which the Briton won on points.

Robles has since split with Ruiz, and the pair have not spoken for several years since pulling off the remarkable feat as a seemingly unbreakable team.

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Since this day, AJ has suffered two more defeats to Oleksandr Usyk but has again responded putting together a neat win streak under new coach Ben Davison.

Anthony Joshua is known by many to be a class act, both inside and outside the boxing ring.

The former two-time heavyweight world champion has fired back at times when provoked by the likes of Jarrell Miller during fight build-ups, but usually keeps things respectful.

A prime example of this has been the preamble to his fight with Francis Ngannou on March 8, which has seen the two titans show a mutual appreciation for one another with no spiteful words exchanged.

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Perhaps most famously, AJ was accused of being too nice before his disastrous first fight with Andy Ruiz in 2019 that saw him lose for the first time.

When Miller failed his drugs tests, he was replaced at short notice by Ruiz, who was almost treated like a competition winner at the pre-fight presser.

Joshua even allowed the Mexican to hold his belts for a picture before the fight.

A few days later, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight world titles formally changed hands as Ruiz floored AJ four times and stopped him in round seven.

However, Ruiz weighed in more than a stone heavier for their rematch in Saudi Arabia six months later after plenty of partying and poor preparation.

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As a result, he was comfortably outboxed and Joshua triumphantly regained the belts.

Ruiz later said that he struggled with depression in the aftermath and ballooned up to 320lbs.

One shining light for him during this period though were the messages of support he received from his rival.

Having only recently experienced defeat for himself, AJ decided to console his opponent.

Ruiz Jr revealed to the Mail: “There were a few messages.

“We were just saying that I’d bounce back, that I’m a great fighter.

“I have nothing but love for him. I don’t have no grudges.”

The coronavirus pandemic delayed Ruiz Jr’s ring return, but he eventually came back and beat Chris Arreola in May 2021.

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He then picked up a solid win against Luis Ortiz in August 2022 and is hoping to get in on the Saudi Arabia heavyweight party with a return to action again in 2024.