Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua will run it back as expected, but few saw the location of the bout coming.
Back in June, Ruiz pulled off a massive upset over Joshua to capture the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. Ruiz scored a seventh-round TKO victory over Joshua inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Those who were expecting the rematch to take place in NYC or the United Kingdom have been taken aback.
Ruiz vs. Joshua 2 Set For Saudi Arabia
Mike Coppinger of The Athletic revealed that the heavyweight title rematch will take place on Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia.
“Breaking: The Andy Ruiz vs. Anthony Joshua rematch has been finalized for Dec. 7 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources tell [The Athletic]. Although it won’t be officially announced today, DAZN is expected to stream the fight in the U.S., and possibly in all nine of its markets.”
Coppinger went on to say that a press conference will be held on Monday to make the bout official.
“There will be a press conference Monday in London where Eddie Hearn will be joined by Saudi reps to reveal details on the fight, such as start time. When WWE held Crown Jewel in November, it started at noon ET (4 p.m. UK). WWE’s Super ShowDown in June began at 2 p.m. ET (6 UK).”
Coppinger also noted that DAZN is prepared to shell out a hefty sum of money to have broadcasting rights.
“Sources: It’s possible DAZN will pay as much as eight figures less for the rights to stream #RuizJoshua2 with it landing in the Middle East rather than its preferred destination, New York, or even the U.K.”
