Anthony Joshua issues quick statement following TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.

Anthony Joshua suffered the first loss of his career tonight against Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The British fighter was defeated by way of TKO in the seventh round by Ruiz, thus surrendering his IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles.

Andy Ruiz Jr. was able to knockdown Anthony Joshua on four different occasions, twice in the third round, before the bout was called off.

Shortly following tonight’s devastating setback, Anthony Joshua took to Instagram with the following quick statement.

“This is Andy’s night, congratulations Champ” – Anthony Joshua

“The vision remains the same! Thank you to everyone who travelled, MSG was lively! #TeamAJ”

While Joshua’s statement on Instagram was short and sweet, the now former heavyweight champion did have more to say in his post-fight interview.

“Big respect to Andy, big big respect,” Anthony Joshua said. “He’s a good fighter. Thank you America. Thank you everyone for coming out this evening. Sorry I let my friends down, sorry I let my supporters down. There is no excuse. I got caught with a big shot, congratulations to him.”

Joshua’s first professional loss moved to his overall record to 22-1 and did not go unnoticed by his peers. Both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder took to Twitter with very different reactions to AJ’s loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.

Fury took the high road by offering the following message of support to ‘The Rent Collector’.

“We have our back and forth’s but Anthony Joshua changed his stars through life. heavyweight boxing, these things happen, rest up, recover, regroup and come again.”

Meanwhile, Deontay Wilder was not so sympathetic when sharing his reaction to Joshua’s loss to Ruiz.

“He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts. Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!”

UFC star Conor McGregor also weighed in on tonight’s surprising main event outcome. See the Irishman’s reaction to Andy Ruiz Jr. upsetting Anthony Joshua here.