Veteran promoter Frank Warren has given his take on the ongoing war of words with respect to the heavyweight rematch between IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Andy Ruiz and challenger Anthony Joshua.

On June 1, Ruiz shocked the world when he stopped Joshua in seven rounds to capture the unified crown at New York's Madison Square Garden.

On Monday in London, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn held a press conference to officially announce that a rematch had been finalized for December 7th in Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz is contractually obligated to face Joshua in a rematch - but Ruiz, an American citizen, is citing safety concerns as his reasoning to refuse to fight in Saudi Arabia.

Hearn has already warned that a legal war will erupt, if Ruiz refuses to honor the terms of the rematch agreement.

The terms of the rematch, which were agreed-upon prior to the first meeting, provide Joshua and his team with the power to decide the venue and location. 

However, Warren cautions that a legal case will not be that simple - because Saudi Arabia has been set as the fight location.

"The bottom line is, the US State Department advises its citizens not to go to Saudi Arabia for many reasons – the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, human rights issues, they’ve got a long paragraph on torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, women’s rights and it talks about the risk of going to airports where terrorists may attack – that’s all on their official website. His own government is telling him his life could be in danger," Warren told Thursday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on Talk Sport.

“All this nonsense about having his titles taken away from him, that is nonsense. You can be sued for breach of contract, and he may have a point there, but it’s not an easy case, that’s for sure. He has a very, very strong position for not travelling.”

Hearn has received a lot of criticism for taking the rematch to Saudi Arabia.

According to Hearn, his motivation to bring the fight to Saudi Arabia is not entirely motivated by money, he wants to open an entire new market for the sport of boxing.

Warren rejects that claim.

“Come on now, we all know what it’s all about. It’s purely about money, no more than that. You won’t be taking your wives or girlfriends because we know what the situation is there, there’s no drinking there, which I accept because it’s their religious beliefs, but it’s hardly the usual environment for a boxing match, or indeed many sporting events," Warren said.

“Whether it goes ahead or not, I have no idea. I found it very odd to announce a fight without either of the boxers there, and Ruiz’ has been quite vociferous about saying he has no intention of going there.”