DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia — There was a lot of talk surrounding what Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua would weigh for their rematch on Saturday. It appeared that both fighters were initially going to come in lighter than they had in their previous bout, when Ruiz pulled off a shocking seventh-round TKO over Joshua to become unified heavyweight champion.
The fighters hit the scales on Friday, and only one held up to the promise of slimming down.
Andy Ruiz Jr. came in at a whopping 283 pounds — 15 pounds heavier than their first meeting. It also clocks in as the second heaviest weight of his boxing career. This came after photos began to circulate of a “slimmed down” version of Ruiz from early in his fight camp.
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua noticeably trimmed down his superhero physique and came in at 237 pounds, 10 pounds lighter than he weighed when the fighters first met back in June.
With a nearly 50-pound weight difference, one has to wonder who comes out on the better end of the weight battle.
“It’s irrelevant from Andy Ruiz’s side,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told DAZN News shortly after the fighters left the scale. “We saw him at the workout, and the weight probably won’t make him slower or faster. He is who he is.”
But Hearn did suggest that Joshua’s weight loss carries a bit more intrigue.
“It is interesting that he’s 10 pounds smaller,” Hearn said about Joshua. “That’s around the weight he was when he first challenged for a world title. But he hasn’t really lost a lot of weight. He’s really just changed how he trains. It’s not like he is skinny or weak. He will probably be faster, and less bulk will likely give him a better engine on fight night.”
Joshua weighed 236 pounds for his fight against Denis Bakhtov for the vacant WBC International heavyweight title back in 2014. He won that fight by second-round knockout.
Hearn thinks that it is a bit strange that Ruiz came in as heavy as he did despite stating he would have liked to come in at a lighter weight for the rematch.
“Maybe they are just playing mind games,” he said. “I don’t know what to make of it.”
What Hearn did reveal was the difference in focus for Joshua between the last camp and this one. Although he wouldn’t go as far as to say that Joshua overlooked Ruiz in the first fight, he did agree that the change of opponent — from one whom the Brit had significant vitriol for in Jarrell Miller to the jovial Ruiz — was deflating for the former champion.
“Massively,” Hearn said when asked if the differing personality types were a factor in how Joshua approached the fight. “That was the first time in a long time where Joshua had an opponent that he truly had bad blood with. He trained really hard for Miller and things were great. And then everything changed.”
Miller would go on to fail three drug tests, and Hearn found himself in a dilemma. Joshua was set to make his highly anticipated United States debut at Madison Square Garden but was now without an opponent. Hearn said there was a moment he considered pulling Joshua off the card but decided against it after Joshua maintained that he wanted to remain on it.
But Ruiz presented several problems both physically and mentally due to the fact that Joshua had spent the last year looking forward to punching Miller in the face.
“I wouldn’t say that he wasn’t ready, but he wasn’t pumped up for that fight,” Hearn said. “He wasn’t ready for what happened, and when he got hurt and war unfolded, he mentally wasn’t war-ready. Now? He’s war-ready and will do anything to win this fight.”
Aside from dealing with an opponent whom he found difficult to dislike, Joshua also faced a different skill set. Miller was a plodding powerhouse while Ruiz is shorter, nimble for his size and possesses exceptional hand speed.
“He’s quite unique,” Hearn said. “It was difficult to find sparring partners for Joshua on short notice who matched what Ruiz brought to the table. But he is much better prepared for the rematch.
“Anthony Joshua knows exactly what to do to beat Andy Ruiz. If he executes, he is 100 percent sure to win this fight.”