Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 6-4-19

Sports
Deontay Wilder Praises
Tiger Encouraged By Final Round 67 At Memorial
TIGER WOODS
Andy Ruiz, Jr., Says
Anthony Joshua 'Quit'
Deontay Wilder gave newly crowned IBF/WBA/WBO heavy- weight champion Andy Ruiz, Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) praise for his upset seventh round knockout win over champion Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. WBC champion Wilder (41- 0-1, 40 KOs) congratulated Ruiz for the victory, and be- coming the first Mexican heavyweight world cham- pion.
Wilder also said that Joshua “quit” in the fight, and that he sees him now as a “broken man” from the loss.
Fans Calling For Wilder vs. Ruiz Now
Many boxing fans want to see Wilder face Ruiz, Jr. in a clash for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. However, that match likely will be pre- vented from going through by Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, as they have a rematch clause in the con-
ANDY RUIZ, JR. AND ANTHONY JOSHUA
Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green at Muirfield Village on Sunday annoyed by the finish but encouraged by his overall play this week at the Memorial Tournament, his last competition before the U. S. Open.
Woods was 7 under par for his round through 13 holes and had missed just one fair- way and one green to that point before running into trouble over the closing five holes, settling for a 5-under- par 67 and his first score in the 60s since the third round of the Masters.
At one point, he was tied for fourth; but he finished at 279, 9 under par and in a tie for 9th. It is his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
"The goal today was to get
to double digits (under par) and get something positive, outside of yesterday, get something positive going into the (U.S.) Open. And I got to double digits. I just didn't stay there.
"Overall it was a great day. I hit the ball really well and made some nice putts.''
Woods will rue the dou- ble-bogey he made at the 15th hole in the first round and the double he made at the 10th hole on Saturday. And on Sun- day, he missed the 14th green with a wedge, leading to a bogey for the second straight day.
"Those are loose things that you can't afford to have happen in an Open,'' Woods said. "If I can clean those up, I should be all right.''
tract for last Saturday night’s fight. Joshua says he wants the rematch with Ruiz “100%.” Hearn is already talking about rematch be- tween them, but it won’t be decided until when/if Joshua will take the fight.
It might be better for Joshua to go his way and let Ruiz, Jr. keep the titles without trying to win them back immediately. If Joshua can put together a string of wins, and show that he can handle fighters with hand speed, then it would be a good time to face Ruiz.
Right now, Joshua would be asking for trouble if he faces Ruiz in an immediate rematch in November or De- cember.
Joshua was expected to be back in the ring in No- vember, but he doesn’t have to fight Ruiz then. He can face a softer opponent like David Allen, Dereck Chisora, Zhilei Zhang or Agit Kabayel. In other words, Joshua needs to build his confidence up, and try and improve on the flaws in his game that Ruiz ex- posed.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019