Andy Ruiz. greeted the royal family, media and fans at a huge grand arrival ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of his rematch this Saturday with Anthony Joshua.
In June, Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) spoiled the U.S. debut of then-undefeated heavyweight kingpin Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs), leaving New York as the unified IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO world heavyweight champion.
The upset is considered one of the largest upsets in heavyweight boxing history, drawing comparisons to other historic heavyweight upsets such as Buster Douglas’ shocking victory over Mike Tyson and Hasim Rahman’s knockout win over Lennox Lewis.
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Ruiz vs. Joshua 2 will be streamed exclusively on DAZN in the United States, an don pay-per-view in the UK by Sky Sports.
The full main card features four heavyweight fights including the much-anticipated world championship main event. Opening the card is Filip Hrgovic (9-0, 7 KOs) against Eric Molina (27-5, 19 KOs) followed by Dillian Whyte (26-1, 18 KOs) against Mariusz Wach (35-5, 19 KOs). In the evening’s chief support bout, Alexander Povetkin (35-2, 24 KOs) will square off against Michael Hunter (18-1, 12 KOs).
“This is a beautiful country and I am really excited to be here. I never imagined being here defending these titles. This is an amazing feeling," Ruiz said.
“We are enjoying life, we are enjoying what comes with this. But we are working hard and ready for Saturday’s fight. We had a longer camp than we did for June 1 and I feel good.”
Regarding the rumors of Joshua looking impressive in sparring, Ruiz is not concerned with any of that talk and believes it will make no difference in the ring.
“Well, I am not a sparring partner. I am the heavyweight champion of the world. That’s the difference. They can say whatever they want but when you get in that ring, it’s a different thing," Ruiz said.
