Nigerian-born heavyweight boxer, Anthony Olaseni Oluwafemi Joshua will step out trimmer and lighter for his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jnr on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, as he weighed-in at his lowest ever for a world title fight, megasportsarena.com reports.
For the historic bout at a hastily constructed collapsible venue in Diriyah, ‘AJ’ will be three stone lighter than Ruiz, as the British pugilist has shed his former ‘body builder’s garb that many fight faithful complained about before the first bout on June 1 at Madison Square Garden, New Yrok.
Ahead of this weekend’s rematch, tagged Clash of The Dunes, starting 10pm Nigeria time, Joshua made a statement by weighing-in at 16st 13lbs, having displayed a slimline physique all week, while Ruiz was heavier than before their first fight at 20st 3lbs.
Amazingly, despite also looking slimmer than he was in June, Ruiz has increased in weight by over a stone since beating Joshua in their first fight (he weighed-in last time at 19st 2lbs) while Joshua has drastically reduced from 17st 9lbs.
Ruiz earlier questioned whether shedding muscle mass was a good idea for Joshua, wondering if he will take the punches as well, but the current champion posted surprising results at Friday’s weigh-in, after also making noises in the build-up that he had lost weight.
Joshua claimed earlier this week that his mission to avenge defeat to Ruiz was a marathon not a sprint, and his weigh-in result is the strongest indication yet that he plans to drag the champion into the later rounds, as he plans to feel light and move easier on his feet.
The outcome of Friday’s weigh-in, therefore, reflects a result of Joshua leaving the gym and weight carrying room behind, as he turns out to be a leaner-looking fighter, who believes he could weigh in below 17 stone for the first time since 2014.
He, however, quickly added that this does not mean he plans to box exclusively on the back foot to avoid Ruiz’s blurring fists, and mischievously suggested his foe would like him to box toe-to-toe and move after a brief conversation during Wednesday’s news conference.
Joshua stated: “For me, take centre ring,” he replied when asked what the best tactics would be. If I’m six inches in front of Ruiz… all it takes for a man to miss a punch is six inches, so sometimes you haven’t got to be running around the ring.
“I’m 6ft 6, so it would be wrong for me to sit in front of Ruiz and go toe-to-toe hooking. I have to box on my attributes, which is range and movement. My boxing style is not what a scared fighter does, it’s what a smart fighter would do. I’m going to be the smarter fighter on the night. We have to engage to win but I’m going to engage to my benefit.”
