Andy Ruiz Jr. still finds himself as the underdog in rematch with Anthony Joshua.

Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22KOs) shocked the boxing world when he stopped then unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21KOs) in June. When Ruiz had gone down less than one minute into the third round, it wasn’t a surprise to many. And then the heavy underdog turned the tables with a hard left hook that staggered the favorite Joshua.

That hook may have spelled the beginning of the end for the defending champion, as “The Destroyer” rallied with two knockdowns of his own in the round. “AJ” didn’t look the same from there, and went down twice more in the seventh round. The rest was history, as Ruiz became the new unified heavyweight champion; and the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage in history.

Though regarding the upset loss, Joshua likes to see it as Ruiz being handed a “punch from the gods.”

“He (Joshua) said it was from the gods,” said Ruiz. “And to tell you the truth, it was from the gods. I’ve been praying all my life for this opportunity. For me to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world. And I always give god the glory, and I’m gonna stay the same.”

The result didn’t come as a surprise to Ruiz, or his trainer Manny Robles; who believed his fighter’s style was a fit for Joshua’s. When they meet again on Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia, Ruiz intends to prove the doubters wrong for a second time by retaining the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.

As was the case in the first fight, the Imperial native comes into the rematch as the underdog against Joshua. Eddie Hearn, who promotes the British star; has even stated that Joshua wasn’t fully focused for the fight with Ruiz.

“It’s gonna mean everything,” said Ruiz. “I think I’m gonna prove everybody wrong again. I think that’s why I still have that fire in me, that motivation. Because there’s still a lot of doubters out there. And I just wanna shut everybody up, and prove them wrong. And of course give god all the glory.”