FINALLY, after plenty of dickering, the rematch between former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and his conqueror, now the reigning IBF, WBA, IBO champion, Andy Ruiz is on. And of all places it’s going to take place in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 7. The first time the pair fought, it was in New York last June where Ruiz handed Joshua his first ever loss via seventh-round stoppage.
TIME. If plans don’t miscarry, due to the time differences, this would mean that the fight will take place early in the afternoon or early evening for US television. This could prove unpopular since Saturday evening is deemed prime time viewing for US sports television where the massive chunk of pay per view money is derived. For UK fans this could mean a 9 p.m. start. If you recall, Joshua had been pushing for the rematch to be held in the UK, but Ruiz would have none of that, citing possible nefarious advantages for the home fighter.
OBJECTIONS. But even this early, the choice of Saudi Arabia as the venue has raised criticism, most notably from Amnesty International (AI). AI has brought up Saudi Arabia’s notoriously poor human rights record and alleged that this is just another opportunity for the country to whitewash its image.
Just last September, Callum Smith vs. George Groves for the WBA super-middleweight title was held in Jeddah and a month ago Amir Khan dominated Billy Dib in the same venue.
POLITICS. I don’t know about you but the human rights issue has lately become quite politicized and should never have any place in sports. AI itself has been widely accused of selective bias against non-Western countries. Me, I just want the rematch.
It will be quite intriguing if Joshua will be able to redeem himself after being exposed as a one-dimensional fighter with questionable chin and stamina. Joshua himself has offered no excuses for the loss but calmly vowed to avenge it, saying he could beat Ruiz “nine times out of 10 if they put them inside a machine.” Lately, Joshua has been shedding some muscle and this got some of his fans excited as to them he now looks more like a boxer than a bodybuilder.
In the first fight, Joshua was able to score a knockdown against the shorter, pudgier Ruiz, but the latter stormed right back and took the fight to AJ.
Apparently, Ruiz has also been busy trying to shed off excess fat so he can be trimmer and more muscular in their rematch.
Interesting sidebar is how this has also turned into a contest for body transformation between these two and how the changes will affect their performance come rematch time.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my kumpare, Junjun Caraballe of MTCC Branch 2, Talisay City, who celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!