‘Joshua could have died in Ruiz loss’

USA's Andy Ruiz (off frame) knocks down England's Anthony Joshua during their 12-round IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Championship fight at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1, 2019. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Anthony Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken insists the health of his boxers is of “paramount importance”.

McCracken told the BBC Boxing podcast he “knew Joshua was concussed” from the third round against Andy Ruiz Jr in June, but let him fight on before his seventh-round loss.



Brain injury charity Headway called it a “shocking admission”.

“I am not a doctor and it may be that concussed is not the right term to have used,” McCracken said on Thursday.



“The health of all the boxers I work with is of paramount importance to me and I have always used my judgement and experience to do what is right for them.

“There is no formal concussion protocol where the doctor steps in to assess the boxer so you have to use your experience as a coach and your knowledge of the person to make a decision on whether you think they can recover.

“I have had this a number of times in my career in professional boxing where boxers have recovered from a difficult round to go on and win the fight.”