What is it?
Andy Ruiz Jr will put his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight world titles on the line against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia. The fight will be a rematch of their June 1 fight, which Ruiz sensationally won with a seventh round stoppage at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Where is it?
The fight will take place in Diriyah, which incorporates the UNESCO World Heritage site of Al-Turaif, on the outskirts of Riyadh. A 15,000-seat purpose-built stadium has been built on the site.
When is it?
Saturday December 7, from 7pm UAE time. The main event is not expected to begin until 2am UAE time.
What happened in the first fight?
Joshua was heavily favoured to extend his unbeaten professional record in his 23rd fight against Ruiz, who was only called up as a late replacement at four weeks notice after original opponent Jarrell Miller failed a series of doping tests.
The British champion looked set to be on course for his latest win when he dropped Ruiz in the third round. However, as Joshua went in for the finish, Ruiz landed a succession of heavy blows to drop Joshua twice in the same round and the champion never recovered.
Ruiz then knocked down Joshua twice in the seventh round before the referee waved off the fight, sealing one of the biggest upset results in boxing history.
What are their professional records?
Ruiz has won 33 professional fights, claiming 22 knockouts, against one defeat - to New Zealand's Joseph Parker in December 2016 in a close majority points decision.
Joshua has won 22 professional fights, with 21 knockouts. His sole defeat was to Ruiz.
Who else is fighting?
The undercard is filled predominantly with heavyweight fights:
- Alexander Povetkin v Michael Hunter
- Dillian Whyte v Mariusz Wach
- Filip Hrgovic v Eric Molina
- Tom Little v Mahammadrasul Majidov
- Hopey Price v Diego Pacheco
Why is the fight taking place in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has been making a big effort in attracting world class sports events to the Kingdom in recent years.
This fight will be the third world-level boxing event to be staged in Saudi Arabia, following the super-middleweight World Boxing Super Series final between Callum Smith and George Groves - which Smith won via a seventh-round stoppage - in September last year, and Amir Khan's WBC welterweight fight against Billy Dib last month. Khan won that fight with a fourth round knockout.
As well as boxing, Saudi Arabia hosted a European Tour golf event - the Saudi International - in February, a Formula E race in December, and will stage the Dakar Rally in 2020. Talks are also ongoing over a Formula One race being held in the Kingdom.
Are tickets still available?
There are still a few tickets left for the fight, ranging from Category 5 up to ringside VVIP packages. To purchase tickets, head to diriyahseason.sa and register at sharek.sa.
How to watch?
The fight will be available on KSA Sports from within Saudi. Details on how to watch in the UAE have yet to be provided.
