Ruiz Jr vs Joshua II
Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua II
(„Clash on the Dunes“)
The fight for the world heavyweight championship of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO associations took place at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Al-Turaif District of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 7 December 2019. Joshua won the fight, a direct rematch, by unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110, 119-109).
On 1 June 2019, the undefeated Joshua, title holder of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO associations, suffered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history at New York’s Madison Square Garden, losing to the underdog Ruiz Jr by technical knockout (TKO) in the seventh round.
Saudi authorities reportedly paid $40 million to host the rematch in Saudi Arabia. On Sky Sports Box Office, the fight reportedly broke the British PPV record, generating a total of 1.575 million purchases in the UK. This was however denied by the British promoter Eddie Hearn. According to him the fight Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko still holds the PPV record.
Ruiz Jr vs Joshua II
Original
2019
Richard T Slone
Acrylic on canvas
36″ x 40″