ANTHONY JOSHUA did NOT quit during his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr, according to the referee who officiated the bout.
The Brit superstar, 30, was accused of giving up in the seventh round against 19st underdog Ruiz, having been dropped four times in New York on his US debut.
But ref Mike Griffin revealed in a DAZN documentary that AJ was simply looking for more time to recover, which the official could not give him.
Griffin said: "He wasn’t quitting, he’s looking for more time.
"I don’t think in any sense he was quitting the fight, he just wanted those seconds.
"But the rules don’t allow me to give him those seconds.”
After being left on all fours for the fourth time in the Madison Square Garden clash, Joshua spat out his gum shield and stood up to beat the count.
But having got to his feet, AJ stumbled back into a neutral corner, put his hands on the ropes and failed to respond to the ref’s instructions.
Griffin waved off the contest as Ruiz ripped the WBA, IBF and WBO belts away from the Watford heavyweight in a huge upset.
Joshua will get his crack at redemption on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, and claims to have learned from the mistakes made in the summer.
He said: "I've learned a lot of things from the defeat, I've learned to take a loss like a man, and to be thankful that I have a second opportunity to go again.
"I don't like to talk about it too much because the thing that goes on the record is the loss, not the description.
“It definitely had an effect on me, but it takes more than that to knock a man like me back."
Source: Read Full Article