Punchstats: In their first bout, Joshua landed 47 of 176 (26.7%) total shots while Ruiz connected on 56 of 206 (27.2%).
He's the goods: Officially, Ruiz is 33-1, 22 KOs but some insist he's 34-0, unofficially. In 2017, Ruiz dropped a somewhat controversial razor thin decision to then WBO Champion Joseph Parker in the latter's native New Zealand. Had Parker vs Ruiz taken place outside of Kiwi territory, would the result have been the same?
Confidence: It means a lot and doesn't show in the statistics. Having already KO'd AJ, Ruiz will be even more confident in the rematch. If he's not
overconfident, it should work to his advantage. Win or lose, don't be surprised to see an even better version of Ruiz in the rematch.
50 Mil: Contrary to speculation, Ruiz will
not get $50 Million for the rematch or anything near close.
Joshua vs Ruiz 2 Purses:
In their first meeting, it's believed Joshua earned between $28 and $32 million USD while Ruiz is believed to have garnered roughly $6 to 7 million USD (£5.36m). Ruiz will likely earn more for the rematch.
UPDATE 8/10: Andy Ruiz Jr. isn’t expected to sign off on the rematch in Saudi Arabia unless he’s guaranteed a significantly higher purse than the approximately $9 million he’s guaranteed to fight
Anthony Joshua again.”
UPDATE 8/28: Matchroom sent a new bout agreement that would see Ruiz Jr’s guaranteed £7million ($9 Million ) fight purse increase significantly.
Payout Estimates: We believe Joshua will earn between $28 and $35 million USD and Ruiz between $12 and $15 Million,
Joshua vs Ruiz 2 contract: Should Joshua regain his title, he won't be contractually obligated to face Ruiz again. Although Ruiz won the first fight, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, is still calling the shots for the rematch because Andy gave him that right when signing the first contract. So, the
Joshua vs Ruiz 2 contract simply enforces what was agreed to prior to the first bout. Minus amended purse details, there's probably nothing new.
More on the contract.
Referee: When Luis Pabon of Puerto Rico was chosen to be the third man in the ring for this Saturday night's main event, no one really had a strong opinion of the selection. The 53-year-old boxing official was more than likely chosen for his apparent tendency to allow both men to fight without being overly officious in the ring.
More on the referee.Joshua vs Ruiz 2 undercard: Two fights you need to watch
Fresh off a recent win over young gun
Hughie Fury, Povetkin will be the underdog against 31 year old
Michael Hunter, a former cruiserweight fighting for the seventh time as a heavyweight. The son of 1990s legendary heavyweight journeyman Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter, the current
Michael Hunter participated on the 2012 US Olympic team and has only one blemish on his resume - a spirited unanimous decision loss to top 10 pound-for-pound fighter
Oleksandr Usyk.
In Hunter's most recent bout, he looked solid if not awesome in defeating red hot young lion Sergey Kuzmin (then 15-0) by a unanimous decision. But, how will he cope with a fighter as seasoned, skilled and strong as Povetkin?
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