The landscape of the boxing heavyweight division changed immeasurably inside Madison Square Garden, where the unfancied Ruiz dethroned the generally accepted ruler of the sport's biggest division by seventh-round TKO.

Unlike some of the sport's previous lofty upsets, this wasn't the one-hitter-quitter that Hasim Rahman landed on Lennox Lewis all those years ago, or an exercise in the perils of ill-preparation like Mike Tyson's loss to James 'Buster' Douglas. When the fight was waved off, Ruiz was ahead on two of the scorecards and had sent the previously undefeated Joshua to the canvas on four separate occasions, including in a remarkable third round in which both men were dropped.

The result puts a significant spanner in the works of Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn who had been navigating a money-spinning path towards Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, a sign perhaps of the over-marination rife in boxing.

Had they struck while the iron was hot, Saturday's fight could have been a massively-lucrative showdown between Joshua and one of the other two men considered among the division's elite. Instead, Joshua's reputation has been irreparably tarnished and any future showdown between Joshua and Wilder or Fury has lost a significant amount of its sheen.

Wilder, though, appears unconcerned with that for the time being. After the surprise outcome, the 'Bronze Bomber' took to social media to throw shade at the defeated Brit.

"He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts," Wilder wrote. "Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!#TilThisDay".

The third man atop the heavyweight pyramid, Tyson Fury, was little more conciliatory in his post-fight comments, telling the former champ that "these things happen" and that he will "regroup and come again."