Ruiz Asks Anthony Joshua For Third Fight After Nigerian Reclaims Heavyweight Titles

Anthony Joshua on Saturday night comprehensively defeated Andy Ruiz Jr 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 in their rematch to regain his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA (super) heavyweight titles.

It was a masterful performance from AJ in Saudi Arabia; the Nigerian-born British boxer schooled Ruiz from range and never allowed the Mexican-American to close the gap.

Joshua jabbed Ruiz Jr to death and he never gave the champion a chance to get inside and land the nasty hooks that led to AJ’s demise the first time around.

After the fight, both men showed their respect for one another and embraced before they did their post-fight interviews, according to talksport.com

When Joshua asked Ruiz if he wanted to retire following calls for AJ to do the same after he lost in New York, Ruiz answered that he wanted a third fight.

Grabbing the mic, he said, “I want the third fight.” 

He then asked the crowd, “Who wants to see the third fight?”

In fact, Ruiz Jr asked the Saudi Arabia crowd several times if they would like to see a third fight between the two men and he seemed to want to do it in Saudi again, too.

Joshua suggested he was well up for it too, declaring, “If you’ve heard, we’re gonna do a third.”

Ruiz was outclassed on the night and he admits he went into the rematch too heavy, having tipped the scales at more than 20 stone on Friday.

He said, “It was his night. I didn’t prepare how I should have.

“I gained too much weight. I don’t want to give excuses, he won. He boxed me around.

“If we do a third fight, I’m going to get in shape. I’ll be in the best shape of my life.

“I thought I was going to feel stronger. Next fight I’m going to get more prepared. I tried to train myself for this.

“I was chasing him too much. I was hesitating too much.”