Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua II

Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua II, billed as Clash On The Dunes, was a heavyweight professional boxing rematch between the Mexican-American champion Andy Ruiz Jr. and British former champion Anthony Joshua, for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight world titles. The event took place on December 7, 2019, at the Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Joshua won the bout via unanimous decision.[1][2] The bout between Ruiz and Joshua was refereed by Luis Pabon.[3]

Clash On The Dunes
DateDecember 7, 2019
VenueDiriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer United States Andy Ruiz Jr. United Kingdom Anthony Joshua
Nickname "Destroyer" "AJ"
Hometown Imperial, California, U.S. Watford, Hertfordshire, UK
Pre-fight record 33–1 (22 KO) 22–1 (21 KO)
Age 30 years, 2 months 30 years, 1 month
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 284 lb (129 kg) 237 lb (108 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO
Heavyweight Champion
TBRB
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
WBA/WBO
No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
IBF/The Ring/TBRB
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
Former unified heavyweight champion
Result
Joshua wins via 12-round unanimous decision (118–110, 118–110, 119–109)

Background

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After losing by seventh-round technical knockout to Andy Ruiz Jr. on June 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City in one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Joshua stated in a post-fight interview that he and his team certainly expected to exercise the rematch clause with Ruiz. Four days after the fight took place, Joshua's promoter and group managing director of Matchroom Sport Eddie Hearn announced on social media platforms that Joshua's management team triggered the contractual rematch clause with Ruiz.

Saudi Arabian authorities reportedly paid £30 million ($41.1 million) to host the event in Saudi Arabia.[12]

The fight

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Joshua dominated the fight, landing smart jabs and right hands throughout enroute to a wide unanimous decision victory with two judges scoring the bout 118–110 and the other 119–109.[13]

Aftermath

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After his wide defeat Ruiz expressed interest in a third bout with Joshua, saying "I was chasing him too much. Who wants to see the trilogy fight?"[14]

International broadcasters

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The fight was streamed live on Fight Sports MAX in MENA region (Saudi Arabia as host), DAZN in the United States and seven other countries, and televised live on PPV's Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[15][16][17]

Country/Region Broadcasters
Free-to-air Cable/Pay television PPV Stream
  MENA Fight Sports MAX
  United States DAZN
  Austria
  Brazil
  Canada
  Germany
  Italy
  Spain
  Switzerland
  Mexico Azteca 7 Azteca En Vivo
Latin America ESPN[18] WatchESPN
  United Kingdom Sky Sports Box Office
  Ireland
  Australia[19] Main Event
Balkan countries Arena Sport Orion TV (SRB only)
Max TV Go (exclude SRB)
  Croatia[20] RTL
RTL Play
Baltic countries TVPlay Sports[21] TVPlay Sports+
  Belgium Eleven Sports[22] Eleven Sports
  Portugal
  Taiwan
  Luxembourg
RTL 7 RTL XL
  Netherlands[23]
  Brunei Astro Box Office Astro Go
  Malaysia
  Bulgaria[24] Diema Sport Diema Play Extra
  China CCTV CNTV
  Czech Republic Sport1 Digi GO
  Hungary
  Slovakia
  France[25] RMC Sport RMC Sport
  Indonesia Mola TV[26] Mola TV On Demand
  Timor-Leste
  Israel Sport 1 Sport 1
  Japan[27] Wowow Wowow
  New Zealand Sky Arena
Nordic countries Viaplay[28]
  Mexico Azteca 7 Azteca En Vivo
  Panama[29] RPC-TV Medcom Go
  Philippines Tap Sports Tap Go
  Poland[30] TVP Sport TVP Stream
  Romania[31] Pro TV Pro TV Plus
Voyo
  Russia[32] Channel One Channel One
  South Africa OpenView
  Tajikistan TV Varzish Mediabay
  Uzbekistan[33] Sport
  Turkey[34] SSport+
  Ukraine[35] Inter Inter

Fight card

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Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight +90 kg.   Anthony Joshua def.   Andy Ruiz Jr. (c) UD 12 Note 1
Heavyweight +90 kg.   Alexander Povetkin vs.   Michael Hunter SD 12
Heavyweight +90 kg.   Dillian Whyte def.   Mariusz Wach UD 10
Heavyweight +90 kg.   Filip Hrgović (c) def.   Éric Molina KO 3 (12) 2:03 Note 2
Heavyweight +90 kg.   Mahammadrasul Majidov def.   Tom Little TKO 2 (8) 1:49
Lightweight -61.2 kg.   Zuhayr Al Qahtani def.   Omar Dusary UD 8
Super middleweight -76.2 kg.   Diego Pacheco def.   Selemani Saidi KO 1 (4) 1:38
Featherweight -57 kg.   Hopey Price def.   Swedi Mohamed TKO 3 (4) 2:22
Lightweight -61.2 kg.   Majid Al Naqbi def.   Ilia Beruashvili TKO 3 (4)

^Note 1 For Unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles [36]

^Note 2 For WBC International heavyweight title

Viewership

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On Sky Sports Box Office, the fight reportedly broke the all-time UK pay-per-view (PPV) record, according to Eddie Hearn (who said he was told by Sky Sports). The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) revealed that Sky Sports Box Office generated 1.284 million buys on fight night, and a further 291,000 buys over the following two weeks,[37] totaling 1.575 million buys in the UK.[38]

On DAZN, the fight was the most streamed event of 2019.[39] It was watched live by approximately 1.8 million DAZN subscribers across nine markets, according to The Athletic boxing journalist Mike Coppinger, who also said the fight drew 200,000 new subscribers, with most from the United States.[40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Domin, Martin (August 9, 2019). "Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr rematch date and venue confirmed". mirror.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia to stage Anthony Joshua v Andy Ruiz Jr world heavyweight fight". Arab News. 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  3. ^ "Ruiz vs Joshua 2 referee: Who is Luis Pabon - the man in charge as AJ looks for revenge?". www.express.co.uk. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Anthony Joshua sensationally beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden". 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  5. ^ "Report: Anthony Joshua 'Hurt Badly' in Sparring Before Andy Ruiz Jr. Knockout". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  6. ^ Domin, Martin (2019-11-28). "Andy Ruiz Jr identifies moment he knew he could beat Anthony Joshua". mirror. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  7. ^ "What happened to Anthony Joshua, and what did we learn from Andy Ruiz Jr.'s big upset?". ESPN.com. 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  8. ^ "Joshua vs Ruiz Jr: Anthony Joshua beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr in stunning New York shock". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  9. ^ Garden, Bryan Armen Graham at Madison Square; York, New (2019-06-02). "Andy Ruiz Jr shocks world with knockout of Anthony Joshua for heavyweight championship". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  10. ^ "Anthony Joshua urged to sack trainer after shock defeat to Andy Ruiz: 'You can't go to uni with third grade teacher'". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  11. ^ "Andy Ruiz Jr lifts lid on WWE offer after Tyson Fury debut ahead of Anthony Joshua rematch | Boxing | Sport | Express.co.uk". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  12. ^ "Joshua doubles his net worth to over £100m after beating Ruiz in rematch". Talksport. Wireless Group. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  13. ^ Luke Reddy (7 December 2019). "Anthony Joshua beats Andy Ruiz Jr to reclaim heavyweight world titles". bbc.co.uk/. Riyadh: BBC. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  14. ^ Peter Gilbert (8 December 2017). "Ruiz Jr vs Joshua 2: Andy Ruiz wants to face Anthony Joshua a third time after losing rematch". skysports.com. Sky UK. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua rematch to take place in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 7 | DAZN News US". DAZN. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  16. ^ "Ruiz Jr vs Joshua 2: Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Jr rematch to have neutral location and officials". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  17. ^ "Fight Sports launches SVOD service in Mena ahead of Joshua-Ruiz". SportBusiness. 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  18. ^ "Andy Ruiz vs Anthony Joshua 2 por ESPN KnockOut". ESPN (in Spanish). 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  19. ^ "Ruiz v Joshua 2 | MAIN EVENT". Main Event. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  20. ^ Goda, Ines. "Boks: Ruiz vs. Joshua, Hrgović vs. Molina, subota, 7. prosinca na RTL-u". RTL (in Croatian). Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  21. ^ "TVPlay Sports Eesti on Instagram: "💣 POMMUUDIS! 💣 7. detsembril kanname üle Andy Ruiz vs Anthony Joshua matši! 🥊 Vaata TVPlay Sports+ kanalilt või veebis…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  22. ^ admin (2019-11-26). "ELEVEN SPORTS SECURES LIVE AND EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF RUIZ vs. JOSHUA 2 FIGHT". Eleven Sports. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  23. ^ "RTL | RTL 7 Fight Night presenteert dé rematch: Ruiz vs. Joshua". RTL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  24. ^ "Кралят се завърна! Джошуа отново се възкачи на световния боксов трон". Gong.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  25. ^ "Droits TV : RMC Sport s'offre la revanche Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz - Boxe - Lourds". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  26. ^ "Mola TV on Instagram: "Anthony Joshua alias "AJ' dianggap sebagai salah satu petinju terbaik di kelas berat. Ia pernah menjuarai empat gelar bergengsi tinju kelas…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  27. ^ "WOWOWオンライン". WOWOW (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  28. ^ "Joshua vs. Ruiz uusintaottelu yksinoikeudella Viaplayssa - ePressi". www.epressi.com (in Finnish). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  29. ^ "Lo Mejor del Boxeo on Instagram: "Nuestras próximas transmisiones internacionales: Sábado 23 de nov, 9pm por RPC: la revancha entre Deontay Wilder y el cubano Luis "King…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  30. ^ "Dla kogo rewanż? Joshua vs. Ruiz II w TVP Sport!". TVP (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  31. ^ "Omul care l-a facut KO pe Joshua a ajuns intre puscariasii periculosi din Mexic! VIDEO". Sport.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  32. ^ "Где и когда смотреть "Столкновение в дюнах": расписание трансляций реванша Джошуа - Руис". www.segodnya.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  33. ^ "UzSportTV (official) on Instagram: "Саудия Арабистонида бутун дунё орзиқиб кутган реванш жанги бўлиб ўтди. Руис собиқ чемпион Энтони Жошуага қарши рингга кўтарилди. Йил…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  34. ^ "#AndyRuiz ile #AnthonyJoshua'ı karşı karşıya getirecek olan WBO, WBA, IBF ve IBO dünya ağır sıklet kemer maçının gerçekleşeceği boks gecesi, 7 Aralık Cumartesi 19:00'dan itibaren canlı yayınla sadece S Sport Plus'ta!". Twitter. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  35. ^ "Бокс Энтони Джошуа VS Энди Руис | 7 декабря в 21:30 на Телеканал Інтер". Inter. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  36. ^ "BoxRec: Event". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  37. ^ "Weekly viewing summary (Sky Box Office Events buys between 2 December 2019 and 15 December 2019)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  38. ^ Jay, Phil (5 January 2020). "Joshua vs Klitschko UK PPV Record Obliterated". World Boxing News. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  39. ^ Bickerton, Jake (7 January 2020). "DAZN reveals Top 10 most streamed events of 2019". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  40. ^ "Joshua vs. Ruiz 2 brings in around 1.8 million viewers on DAZN". Boxing News 24. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
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Preceded by Andy Ruiz Jr.' bouts
December 7, 2019
Succeeded by
Anthony Joshua's bouts
December 7, 2019
Succeeded by