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Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. Rematch Targeted for November or December in UK
June 2, 2019
Andy Ruiz Jr. spoiled the United States debut of British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua with a seventh-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Fans were none too pleased, booing English boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. However, through the boos, Hearn said during his interview that Joshua will have a chance at revenge in November or December in his native U.K., according to ESPN's Ariel Helwani.
With the victory, Ruiz Jr. takes control of Joshua's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. The Mexican American California native only had five weeks' notice ahead of this fight as a replacement for Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller.
According to CBSSports.com's Jack Crosby, Ruiz wasn't even Hearn's preferred choice to replace Miller:
"Following the removal of Miller, promoter Eddie Hearn had his eyes on former WBC championship challenger Luis Ortiz to step in as Joshua's new foe. Hearn was so enamored with the thought of Ortiz—who had put on a respectable performance against WBC champ Deontay Wilder in a March 2018 title fight—that he reportedly offered Ortiz the largest payout of his career to play foil to Joshua on short notice.
"Ortiz and his team turned down the offer, however, with another potential big payday ahead for a rematch with Wilder."
Following his shocking knockout of Joshua to become the first Mexican American heavyweight champion, Ruiz saved one more jab for Hearn:
Joshua was graceful in defeat, putting his arm around his opponent and calling for a round of applause for Ruiz. "Big, big respect," Joshua said.
The 29-year-old added, "We'll be seeing you again." And he meant it, as he told Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix he will "100 percent" exercise his rematch clause (h/t Helwani).