ANTHONY JOSHUA EXACTS REVENGE AGAINST ANDY RUIZ, JR. IN HISTORIC REMATCH
In the biggest heavyweight fight of the decade, Anthony Joshua OBE (23-1, 21 KOs) recaptured his position as the unified world heavyweight champion with a masterful unanimous decision victory over Andy Ruiz, Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) in a rematch that captured the world’s attention. In front of thousands of rabid fans at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Joshua exacted his revenge against Ruiz, who six months ago dethroned the undefeated kingpin in epic fashion at Madison Square Garden in New York. Joshua returns to the U.K. as the unified IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion and now two-time world heavyweight champion.
The entire fight card is available now on DAZN, which can be downloaded anywhere apps are available and on any connected device. DAZN offers an annual pass for one low price of $99 or $20 per month.
In the evening’s chief support bout, Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) and Michael Hunter (18-1-1, 12 KOs) battled for 12 back-and-forth rounds which resulted in a split draw – the first draw of each fighter’s career. In the ring following the fight, Povetkin and Hunter spoke about their desire for a rematch to settle the score. Former heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) delivered an impressive unanimous victory over Mariusz Wach (35-6, 19 KOs) to further enhance his case for a title shot in 2020.
Filip Hrgovic (10-0, 8 KOs) remained undefeated with a knockout of Eric Molina (28-5, 19 KOs) in the 3rd Round following a dominating performance. Opening the main card on DAZN from Saudi Arabia, Mahammadrasul Majidov (2-0, 2 KOs) defeated Tom Little (10-8, 3 KOs) via 2nd Round TKO. Two four-round bouts were added to the main portion of the card, highlighted by an impressive 1st Round knockout from rising prospect Diego Pacheco (8-0, 7 KOs) over Selemani Saidi (20-16-5, 15 KOs). Also, Drago “Hopey” Price (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Swedi Mohamed (12-7-2, 3 KOs) by 3rd Round TKO.
QUOTES FROM SAUDI ARABIA
Anthony Joshua
On his performance: “Man, the first time was so nice – I had to do it twice! A man like me don’t make no excuses, my boy Dereck Chisora said I could do this if I am ready to D-I-E. And look, this is about boxing. I am used to knocking guys out. Last time, I hurt the man and I got caught coming in. I gave that man his credit. There was no excuses. I respect Andy and his family and his trainers so much. I just wanted to put on a great boxing masterclass and also show the sweet science of this lovely sport. It’s about hitting and not getting hit.”
On any mental changes: “Never a change in mentality. You know the saying, ‘Stay hungry, stay humble.’ I have stayed hungry and I have stayed humble. I am humble in defeat and I will remain humble in victory. Thank you again to Andy Ruiz and his family, to Saudi Arabia and all of the traveling fans, all of my supporters.”
On handling Andy Ruiz’s pressure: “It’s all about preparation. Like I said, one day when I release a book I will walk through my career’s experience. It’s just about creating great memories. I took my L and I bounced back. Life is a rollercoaster. I heard some people say that we should retire if we lose. Hey Andy, are you ready to retire? (Andy: ‘No way, let’s go again.’) Exactly, we are warriors.”
On a third fight: “Without a doubt. If you heard, we are going to do a third. He beat me fair and square the first time and I beat him fair and square the second time. So we will do it again. 100%.”
On where this win ranks in his career: “I just want to say I have the utmost respect for Andy Ruiz who beat me fair and square in the first exam. I failed the first time, but I came back and studied hard and passed this time. But this ranks second. The first would be my fight against Wladimir Klitschko. It means so much to me and I learned so much from that fight. I respect Wladimir so much and he gives me so much advice still. This fight ranks number two though.”
On being disciplined in this fight: “I know that my fans like to see me knock people out and I can do that but sometimes with certain fighters you have to box smarter.”
On fighting Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury: “What can I say? I have been speaking about these guys a long time. You see this time, when I had the opportunity to just focus solely on Andy, my head is in the right place. When Wilder, Fury, Ortiz and Usyk are really ready, they will make the call. Until then, I respect them. I won’t continue to call them out. I am making my own lane and if they want to be a part of that, they will call. Ruiz did it and created a legacy. If those guys want to do it, they can create a legacy too. Look at all I have done, come on. When I call them out and do all of that, I lose focus.”
Andy Ruiz, Jr.
On his performance: “It was his night. I don’t think I prepared as good as I should have. I gained too much weight but I don’t want to give no excuses. He won, he boxed me around but if we do the third, best believe I will come in the best shape of my life.”
On his higher weight being an issue: “It kind of affected me a lot. I thought I would come in stronger and better. But you know what, next time I am going to prepare better with my team. This time I tried to train myself at times to get prepared but no excuses. Anthony Joshua did a hell of a job. Thanks to everyone in Saudi Arabia who supported.”
On pressuring AJ: “I think I was chasing him too much instead of cutting off the ring. I just felt like I couldn’t throw my combinations. But who wants to see this third fight?”
Eddie Hearn
On what’s next: “We are going to celebrate. Anthony Joshua is an amazing ambassador for the sport. He has given everything to this sport. Tonight, in Saudi Arabia, he becomes the two-time heavyweight champion of the world and that is beautiful.
On his performance: “It was an absolute masterclass. He was able to stay disciplined. People have doubted his boxing ability, his endurance. He was humiliated at Madison Square Garden. It was the American coming out party and it was ruined. He could have brushed himself down and went off. Instead he came back and put on that performance and it was beautiful. That’s the sweet science. That was like Picasso on a canvas, paining a masterpiece.”
On Anthony’s comeback: “They wrote him off. They said he was all hype. He had to come back from humiliation at Madison Square Garden. Tonight, he is the governor. The governor of the division.”
On fighting in Saudi Arabia: “We got criticized for coming here but these people have been amazing. The vision they have for boxing in this region is incredible and they delivered.
On AJ becoming undisputed heavyweight champion: “Tonight is about becoming the two-time heavyweight champion of the world. We can talk about that later. We’ve wanted the undisputed for years and years. We will do what Anthony wants to do and he’s always wanted to be undisputed. People listen to rubbish that he doesn’t want it and you know what, we won’t give them this. We aren’t even going to give them the airtime. He is the king. They wrote him off and said he all hype but look, he’s back. He is the king again. He is the one who continues to step up – Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s resume don’t even stack up. They world stopped to watch Anthony Joshua become the two-time world heavyweight champion today and it was all live on DAZN, baby.”
On fighting Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury: “Anthony has been chasing them for years. Those fights will happen. Maybe they were right to walk away from those fights back then because the fight is worth much more now. AJ wants the legacy. He created that legacy tonight in Saudi Arabia. He sells out arenas around the world. He is transforming boxing. These other guys can’t lace his boots! He is only 24 fights in and he is only going to get better.”
Alexander Povetkin
On the split draw: “I think it was 50/50 fight. I want to thank Michael Hunter for a good fight, a real good rumble. I respect Michael a lot and I want to do it again.”
Michael Hunter
On the split draw: “I don’t make the score so I don’t know what to say. I just have to get back to drawing board. I thought I did enough (to win). But obviously the judges didn’t think so. I hope that we have another chance to fight him again. I don’t like to leave any stone unturned so I definitely want to do it again.”
Dillian Whyte
On his performance: “I boxed nowhere near my standard. I’ve been off for six months and people have been screwing me left and right for the last six months. My mind hasn’t been in the right place but I carried on training. I took this fight on three weeks’ notice, came in about a stone and half overweight but with my defense and stuff, I knew I could get through him. I wanted to stop him but he’s tough. It’s just good to be back in there. Everyone has been screwing me apart from a handful of people. I’ve been through hell these past couple of months but we are here!”
On being relieved that his drug test situation is resolved: “Everyone was treating me like a hero for beating Oscar Rivas to then be treated like a nobody. My team, Eddie and Sky stuck by me. Sorry guys for not getting the knockout but like I said, I feel great to have even made it to the fight because where I was two or three months ago was a dark place. I thought about walking away from boxing. A few times I thought, ‘You know, I’ve made a bit of money, I can take it, run off into the night and live my life.’”
Filip Hrgovic
On not getting credit for the early knockdowns: “He was turning away a lot but those were all regular punches.”
On what he wants next: “I think I am ready for everyone. I want to fight the biggest names in the division, that’s been my wish from the beginning. I hope that some of these warriors will accept a fight with this young guy from Croatia.”
On his championship prospects: “Everything can happen. I believe I can be the heavyweight champion in the next few fights. I may never become world champion. This is boxing, this is a dangerous sport but I am very confident of my skills and my team.”
Mahammadrasul Majidov
On his performance: “I am happy today to be here. This is a very good arena, very good people here and this is a great country. What I want to say though – my opponent is a very good guy. I have a ton of respect for him.”
On whether he can continue his amateur success as a professional: “My style is professional boxing. For a long time I have wanted to come to the professional boxing ranks. I have a little problem getting there but now my manager has helped me get here.”
Drago “Hopey” Price
On what the opportunity to fight on this card means: “I am still only a kid so most people will think this is cool that I am here fighting in Saudi. Big thanks to Matchroom, Eddie and Sky for giving me this opportunity. I hope the fans enjoyed it. I only gave them three rounds. I am breaking fighters down and when it is time to step up competition, I will be ready.”
On his performance: “It’s just about getting more experience. Stepping into the ring inside this wonderful arena, I’ve never seen it before. I am learning bit by bit. I am getting older and getting better.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
12-Round IBF, WBA & WBO World Heavyweight Title Bout
Andy Ruiz, Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 2
Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) defeated Andy Ruiz, Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) via unanimous decision. (119-109, 118-110 x2)
12-Round Heavyweight Bout
Alexander Povetkin vs. Michael Hunter
Alexander Povetkin (35-2, 24 KOs) and Michael Hunter (18-1, 12 KOs) fought to a split draw. (115-113 Povetkin, 115-113 Hunter, 114-114)
10-Round Heavyweight Bout
Dillian Whyte vs. Mariusz Wach
Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) defeated Mariusz Wach (35-6, 19 KOs) via unanimous decision. (98-93, 97-93 x2)
12-Round Heavyweight Bout
Filip Hrgovic vs. Eric Molina
Filip Hrgovic (10-0, 8 KOs) defeated Eric Molina (27-6, 19 KOs) by KO at 2:03 of Round 3.
8-Round Heavyweight Bout
Magomedrasul Majidov vs. Tom Little
Magomedrasul Majidov (2-0, 2 KOs) defeated Tom Little (10-8, 3 KOs) by TKO at 1:49 of Round 2.
4-Round Super Middleweight Bout
Diego Pacheco vs. Selemani Saidi
Diego Pacheco (8-0, 7 KOs) defeated Selemani Saidi (20-16-5, 15 KOs) by KO at 1:38 of Round 1.
4-Round Featherweight Bout
Drago “Hopey” Price vs. Swedi Mohamed
Drago “Hopey” Price (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Swedi Mohamed (12-7-2, 3 KOs) by TKO at 2:22 of Round 3.
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Fight Season on DAZN continues to roll on through the holidays. DAZN subscribers can catch undefeated rising prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. back in action against Brad Solomon on Friday, Dec. 13, and on Friday, Dec. 20, two former middleweight world champions face off when Daniel Jacobs makes his super middleweight debut against Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Fans can also take a look back at the first fight between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz, Jr. through the lens of executive producer Sylvester Stallone by checking out the DAZN Originals documentary ONE NIGHT.
For more information, fans can follow DAZN’s U.S. social channels: @DAZNUSA on Facebook, @DAZN_USA for Twitter, and DAZN_USA for Instagram.
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DAZN is the largest global sports streaming service. Since launching in 2016, DAZN has expanded to nine countries across four continents with its app available for download in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil. In the U.S., DAZN has made its mark as an attractive alternative to pay-per-view within the combat sports industry. The service features big fights from Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, GGG Promotions, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series and Combate Americas, all for one affordable price, on any device – including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN also features The Pat McAfee Show, live MLB action each day of the season with its daily show ChangeUp and a growing number of projects from DAZN Originals.
