• Former heavyweight champion says Joshua must be disciplined • ‘Andy’s going to make sure it isn’t a dull fight’
It is 18 years since Hasan Rahman exploded a wrecking ball on Lennox Lewis’s chin and was transformed from a 20-1 underdog to the world heavyweight champion in a blink of an eye. But while the
American lost his belts in a rematch later in 2001, he is not convinced history will repeat itself when boxing’s latest Cinderella Man, Andy Ruiz Jr, faces Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
“Joshua is so used to knocking everybody out, but he has to remain disciplined and quite frankly make it a boring fight if he wants to win,” said Rahman, whose fighter Michael Hunter meets Alexander Povetkin on the undercard. “If Anthony is disciplined, and uses his height, reach and distance he can secure a victory. But if Joshua tries to make it exciting and go for the knockout, then he gets knocked out.”