Anthony Joshua just stood there and smiled.

For 12 rounds he had outboxed, out-thought and outworked his opponent. In the final 10 seconds of round 12 of the much-hyped ‘Clash on the Dunes’, an exasperated Andy Ruiz Jr. beckoned Joshua to come in and trade punches. That this one final attempt to cut the distance and make the bout a brawl was met with smirking rather than striking speaks to the evolution that Joshua has undergone as a fighter since his shock loss to the Mexican-American underdog on June 1st. 

Joshua cut a lean figure as he weighed in at 16 stone 13 pounds – the lightest he has been for a world title fight. This physical transformation was matched by a level of mental maturation. Against his instincts, he avoided the temptation to try to steamroll his opponent.

Safe in the knowledge that redemption was his, the re-moulded and revitalised Joshua had the luxury of taking a breather as the fight drew to a close. Ruiz’s ‘Operation Desert Storm’ never materialised. Much as the 20 stone plus heavyweight champion wanted to engage his target in close-quarters trench warfare, Joshua succeeded in keeping the battle at long distance and to his strategic advantage. Working diligently behind his jab, Joshua put on a near punch perfect pugilistic display of ring generalship. 

The boxing community has rightly lavished praise on Joshua. Under immense pressure he delivered a calm, composed and disciplined performance to reclaim the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF world heavyweight titles. His landslide points victory was well deserved. 

But this performance could still foreshadow trouble for the newly crowned two-time heavyweight champion.

‘The idea is to hit and not get hit’ proclaimed a triumphant Joshua post-fight. No one can deny he achieved boxing’s main objective for the majority of this bout. But as he stood victorious in front of the world’s cameras, Joshua also echoed a former British heavyweight great by describing the ‘sweet science’ behind his performance. Those that have followed Lennox Lewis’ esteemed career will have noticed a key difference in his execution of this science. 

In his biggest fights, Lewis used his jab to soften up opponents before delivering an explosive knockout punch. For Joshua, that punch never came. And, in this fight, it didn’t need to. But, in truth, it never looked like coming. Was this a result of Ruiz’s granite chin? Or was this a sign that Joshua’s more nimble frame came at the expense of his knockout power? It looked like the latter. Before becoming reckless and unravelling in their first fight, Joshua was able to knock Ruiz to the floor with a well timed right-hand, left-hook combination. He connected with several clean punches in Saudi desert, but his strikes appeared to lack their usual venom. Ruiz brushed them off and just kept on marching forward. 

In order to become the undisputed unified heavyweight champion, Joshua will need to take on at least one of Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. That he seemingly lacked the concussive punching power that knocked out Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Dillian Whyte and 18 other opponents will have been something the Gypsy King and the Bronze Bomber will have noted with interest. Fury will fancy his chances of taking on Joshua in a clash of pure boxing skills, and Wilder will be buoyed by the prospect of facing a version of Joshua shorn of the ability to detonate before he can. 

This was a night of redemption and celebration for Joshua. He was right to smile. But in order to realise his ambition of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion, his evolution will need to continue. 

‘Why am I feeling like this?’

These were the words a disorientated and damaged Anthony Joshua managed to form shortly before he was stopped in his tracks by 25-1 outsider Andy Ruiz Jr. at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden. What was supposed to be a ruthless statement of intent from the all-conquering Brit to the American public had turned into a nightmarish battering under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

The most alarming aspect of Joshua’s defeat was its nature. This was not a Buster Douglas 10th round flurry, or a Hasim Rahman Hail Mary. This was a systematic beat down of the unified heavyweight champion of the world. That it moved the enigmatic Tyson Fury to words of condolence for his longtime heavyweight rival speaks to the shockwaves generated by Ruiz’s performance. Deontay Wilder, the WBC champion upon whom Joshua had his sights firmly fixed before this bout, showed no such compassion. ‘His whole career consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts’ tweeted a seemingly gleeful Bronze Bomber in the aftermath.

Is Joshua the real deal?

All week the world’s media had been treated to insights into Joshua’s preparation for this fight – the detailed nutritional planning, meticulous video analysis, intense sparring sessions, strenuous strength and conditioning, focus on stretching and recovery during weekends… even the memory games designed to keep the mind sharp. ‘We are finally pulling it all together’ claimed a buoyant Joshua.

To no avail.

Belts stripped and aura of invincibility erased, it’s time for Joshua to remould himself.

There’s a rematch clause, of course. ‘This is all part of the story and the journey’ rationalised Joshua post-fight. All British boxing fans will be hoping that’s the case. Joshua’s oft-mentioned journey, though, had himself and his legions of fans hoping – expecting – that it would end with greatness, elevating him to a pantheon of esteemed heavyweights including the likes of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Make no mistake, in order for that to be the case Joshua has to bounce back from his first devastating defeat in emphatic fashion, just as the greats before him have done.

Until that point, British boxing fans will be left sharing Joshua’s feeling of confusion and unease.