British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua retaliated against his Mexican American rival Andy Ruiz and defeated him by points yesterday Saturday in Saudi Arabia, to recover the heavyweight titles he lost to the same competitor in the middle of this year.
Joshua succeeded in regaining the titles of the World Assembly, the World Organization and the International Boxing Federation, which he abdicated last June in New York by losing to Ruiz by a knockout during the seventh round.
Joshua presented a special match in which he outperformed 118-110 points by two rulers and 119-109 by the third referee, to settle the match in his favor under the eyes of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a meeting called "the historic Druze match."
"The first time was very beautiful, so I had to do it again," said the 30-year-old, after winning that raised the world title for the second time in his career.
Joshua fought the battle, which is twenty kilos less than his opponent, as he lost a lot of muscle weight since the previous confrontation between them in order to improve his movements on the track, as he entered the battle, which is considered the most important test in his career, and he weighs 107.5 kilograms, unlike Ruiz, who gained weight since the confrontation New York, where he weighed 128.36 kg Friday.
The June result was one of the biggest loud surprises in the history of boxing, during which Joshua - who is currently the best boxer and a gold medal for the London 2012 Olympics - fell on the rug four times, before the referee announced the victory of the fight in favor of Ruiz one and 26 seconds after the start The seventh round.
During his career, the British boxer fought 24 battles, exceeding 23 of them, and resolving 21 fights with a knockout.
Ruiz, 30, also admitted that Joshua was the best, and after losing, he said, "It was his evening (...) I did not prepare properly. My weight has increased greatly. I do not want to make excuses, he won, he has surpassed me." ..But if we had a third fight, you can bet that I will be in the best possible fitness. "
The vengeance match was held in a circuit that accommodates 15,000 people, which was built to host the event in Diriyah, which includes Al-Turif, the site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, on the outskirts of the capital Riyadh.
The Welsh capital Cardiff nominated to host the contest at the Principality Stadium, but Saudi Arabia outperformed it in its endeavor to enhance its global position in the sports field, as it spent - according to the British newspaper "The Telegraph" - nearly one hundred million US dollars to host the match.