[FIGHT THREAD] Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua, Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter, Filip Hrgovic vs Eric Molina, Dillian Whyte vs Mariusz Wach & Live Round-By-Round Coverage
DATE Saturday 7th December 2019
LOCATION Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
TELEVISION Sky Sports Box Office (UK), DAZN (USA, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan), Main Event (Australia)
UNDERCARD Sky Sports Boxing Facebook will air a free undercard fight 1 hour before the start time listed below
TIME 8pm (Diriyah) 9am (LA), 12pm (NYC), 5pm (London) 4am Sunday (Sydney)
RUIZ-JOSHUA Midnight (Diriyah) 1pm (LA), 4pm (NYC), 9pm (London) 8am Sunday (Sydney)
Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua
12 Rounds
WBA World Heavyweight Title
WBO World Heavyweight Title
IBF World Heavyweight Title
| Andy Ruiz Jr | vs | Anthony Joshua |
|---|---|---|
| 33(22)-1-0 | RECORD | 22(21)-1-0 |
| 30 | AGE | 30 |
| 6'2" | HEIGHT | 6'6" |
| 283 lbs | WEIGHT | 237 lbs |
| 74" | REACH | 82" |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Imperial, USA | HOMETOWN | Watford, UK |
| 4(3)-1-0 | LAST FIVE | 4(3)-1-0 |
Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter
12 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
| Alexander Povetkin | vs | Michael Hunter |
|---|---|---|
| 35(24)-2-0 | RECORD | 18(12)-1-0 |
| 40 | AGE | 31 |
| 6'2" | HEIGHT | 6'2" |
| 229 lbs | WEIGHT | 226 lbs |
| 75" | REACH | 79.5" |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Kursk, Russia | HOMETOWN | Van Nuys, USA |
| 4(1)-1-0 | LAST FIVE | 5(4)-0-0 |
Dillian Whyte vs Mariusz Wach
10 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
| Dillian Whyte | vs | Mariusz Wach |
|---|---|---|
| 26(18)-1-0 | RECORD | 35(19)-5-0 |
| 31 | AGE | 39 |
| 6'4" | HEIGHT | 6'7.5" |
| 271 lbs | WEIGHT | 270 lbs |
| 78" | REACH | 82" |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| London, UK | HOMETOWN | Krakow, Poland |
| 5(2)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 2(2)-3-0 |
Filip Hrgovic vs Eric Molina
12 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
| Filip Hrgovic | vs | Eric Molina |
|---|---|---|
| 9(7)-0-0 | RECORD | 27(19)-5-0 |
| 27 | AGE | 37 |
| 6'6" | HEIGHT | 6'4" |
| 241 lbs | WEIGHT | 248 lbs |
| ? | REACH | 79" |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Zagreb, Croatia | HOMETOWN | Raymondville, USA |
| 5(4)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 3(1)-2-0 |
Other Undercard Fights
- Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little
- Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary
- Majid Al Naqbi vs Ilia Beruashvili
- Diego Pacheco vs Selemani Saidi (Float)
- Ivan 'Hopey' Price vs Swedi Mohamed (Float)
Join us on our Discord
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Live Round-By-Round Coverage
Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua
Round 1
I'm so pumped for this fight. Who's it going to be? And we're off. Ruiz straight on the front foot. He lands a left hook and a jab. Ruiz has the centre of the ring and is winning the early exchanges. Nice jab from Ruiz to the body. Joshua has hardly thrown. Ruiz jabs to the body. Ruiz touches AJ's body. Very little being thrown here. Joshua gets a right over the guard for a scoring punch. Ruiz taps the body. Nice jab from Joshua. Joshua jabs to the body. Big right up top from Joshua. RUIZ IS CUT BADLY! AJ thought about jumping in, but Ruiz scared him off with that hook. Joshua showing the kind of ring IQ that was lacking in the third last time.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz
Round 2
Ruiz takes centre ring again, with Joshua happy to circle him. Ruiz missing a right to the body but lands a great jab, which snaps AJ's head back. Right lands from Joshua. Great jab Joshua. Joshua jabs downstairs. AJ not standing still for Ruiz. They exchange jabs and hooks. Good jab from range from the Brit. This is a mature performance so far. They get in close, and AJ sensibly ties up. There's a clash of heads. Joshua is cut now. Slow ending to the round.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 20-18 Ruiz
Round 3
Ruiz straight in with a jab. More movement from AJ without throwing. Ruiz scores to the body. Nice jab from the Brit. Ruiz struggling to set up a second phase. Joshua making the American miss a lot in this round. Neither man has landed anything for at least a minute now, although Ruiz has thrown plenty. Great jab from Joshua snaps Ruiz's head back. The Brit lands a combination, which secures him the round.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 30-27 Ruiz
Round 4
Joshua boxing clever again, although Ruiz may have just got home with a right there. As soon as Ruiz gets in close, Joshua ties up. AJ jabs. Joshua misses with a right, which allowed Ruiz the chance to counter. Nice jab from Ruiz, but AJ jabs back. Good jab from Joshua, but he misses the follow-up right. Ruiz jabs to the body. Joshua scores up top. Another stiff jab from the Brit. Joshua lands a big right. Left hook from Joshua lands to the temple, and he follows up with an uppercut. Big right from Ruiz, and that stiffened Joshua's legs. Ruiz is clambering to get his punches off, but the bell comes at a useful time for the Brit.
Ruiz 10-9 Joshua - Joshua 39-37 Ruiz
Round 5
How affected was Joshua at the end of the fourth? Ruiz jabs to the body. The American is closing in on Joshua now. Another jab to the body from AR. Ruiz jabs up top. Ruiz scores again to the body. Joshua has barely thrown this round and we're 80 seconds in. Left hook to the head lands from Joshua. AJ jabs. Nice right from Joshua, which is easily the best punch of the round so far. AJ with a left hook up top that partially landed. Ruiz jabs to the body.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 49-46 Ruiz
Round 6
Joshua again gets on his bike and forces AR to miss.Nice hook from Joshua, but Ruiz lands a harder hook back. Uppercut lands from the Brit. Joshua lands a jab. Great jab through the guard from Joshua, and he gets away again to keep Ruiz on the chase. Ruiz lands a right to the body. Joshua jumps in with a big left hook upstairs. AJ with a couple of jabs. Every time Ruiz looks to load up, Joshua jumps back a yard. Joshua misses a right, and sensibly ties up, although Ruiz hits him on the back of the head and gets a telling off from the referee.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 59-55 Ruiz
Round 7
Another cagey start to this round, with Joshua moving and Ruiz chasing. The American lands a right to the body, which scores but has no effect. Nice right cross lands from Joshua. The referee has words with Ruiz again for hitting on the back of the head as AJ tied up. Joshua with a jab then ties up immediately after missing the right. Ruiz lands with a right. They get in close, and surprisingly it's Joshua who lands the better shot on the inside. Joshua with another big right, but Ruiz fires back. Joshua at risk of getting into a fire fight here. Big right lands up top from Joshua. He ties Ruiz up as soon the American gets in close.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 69-64 Ruiz
Round 8
Ruiz is clearly behind on the cards, and he's got 15 minutes left to get inside Joshua. They tie up, and Ruiz works the body. Joshua lands a jab. Ruiz taps the body. Ruiz with a stiff jab to the chest. Big right from Ruiz on the top of the head. Joshua isn't happy with that, so he hits on the break, and the referee gives them both a talking to. Ruiz to the body. He's definitely winning this round, and is he slowing Joshua down. Big right from Ruiz, and he follows up with more clubbing shots that have Joshua in trouble. He's over the worst, and he gets back on his bike to prevent Ruiz from doing any more damage. AJ lands a jab, but Ruiz with a huge hook that clearly affected Joshua. Clear round for AR.
Ruiz 10-9 Joshua - Joshua 78-74 Ruiz
Round 9
Was Round 8 a turning point? Let's find out. Ruiz's jab lands on the chin of Joshua. Huge jab from Joshua snaps AR's head back. Another big jab from the Brit. Big jab again from AJ. Joshua touches the body. Left hook from Ruiz lands upstairs, but he's throwing them from too far back to get much purchase on them. Joshua scores with a left hook to the head. Good jab Ruiz. Ruiz lands a couple of soft jabs. Huge hook from Joshua, but he stays in the pocket and gets tagged with a big hook. Very close round.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 88-83 Ruiz
Round 10
They tie up, and it's Ruiz as always who does the better work, clubbing both sides of Joshua's body. Ruiz lands a right from distance. Joshua lands the one but misses the two. Joshua jabs. Joshua to the body. Great jab Joshua, which snaps Ruiz's head back. And again. Ruiz is looking frustrated in there. He's not being allowed to throw. Left hook to the head lands from Joshua. Ruiz lands a hook up top, but Joshua ties up then escapes. Joshua throwing out a couple of very lazy looking jabs. He needs to be careful with that, because Ruiz knows his only path to victory now is a knockout.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 98-92 Ruiz
Round 11
Ruiz has 6 minutes to knock out Anthony Joshua, or the belts are going back to the UK. Ruiz lands an overhand right. Nice jab Joshua. Ruiz misses the jab, allowing Joshua to throw the right. Ruiz gets his man onto the ropes, but Joshua ties up well. Good jab Joshua. Ruiz lands a hook to the ribs. One of very few landed punches this round. Joshua jabs. Joshua scores with a couple of soft shots. Another jab from AJ. Ruiz getting so annoyed at the Briton's movement. Ruiz scores with a jab then a hook to the ribs. Ruiz jabs. Joshua jabs to the body. Close round with little between them.
Ruiz 10-9 Joshua - Joshua 107-102 Ruiz
Round 12
Final round. Ruiz knows what he has to do. Ruiz lands a right hook up top. Joshua smiling in there. Huge right from Joshua sends an Ortiz-esque amount of sweat from Ruiz's head. Ruiz took that well. Joshua jabs. Big left hook from Ruiz. Joshua jabs to the body. Ruiz has a minute left to score an unlikely knockout win. What a performance this has been from Joshua, who dances round Ruiz some more. Ruiz swinging like a wildman and tells Joshua to stand in the middle, but Joshua smiles and dances some more. A great comeback performance from Joshua.
Joshua 10-9 Ruiz - Joshua 117-111 Ruiz