I've seen a lot of chatter online about where Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz should meet in their rematch.
By all accounts, the chips are in Joshua's court. As part of the negotiations for their first encounter 'Team Joshua' put in place a rematch clause. It appears that the contract also specified that Joshua has final say over the venue of the rematch.
With Ruiz basking in the glow of a magnificent upset, it is easy to forget just what an opportunity AJ granted Ruiz in the first place. Ruiz was dangerous, an avoided opponent that AJ took on as a voluntary at short notice.
Not just that but AJ fought Ruiz in his own country.
AJ gave Ruiz the opportunity of a lifetime with very little upside.
Now without the title, AJ is in a rare position of being able to dictate terms to a Champion.
AJ should put ego aside and maximize this opportunity. He should fight Ruiz in the UK with hometown support behind him. The history books will not care where the rematch takes place. Does anyone care where Lennox Lewis fought his rematches with Olivier McCall or Hasim Rahman?
The main people that are truly bothered about the prospect of AJ taking on Ruiz in front of 80,000 Brits cheering him on are his detractors. People that want AJ to lose and frozen out of the Heavyweight title picture.
Out of the crop of current Heavyweights, AJ has been the one that has demonstrated a willingness to take on the toughest challenges fight after fight.
I know the warrior in AJ wants to go back to MSG and 'right the wrong' there. However, AJ should not allow himself to be goaded into making his task against Ruiz harder than it needs to be. Now is not the time. And, despite their rhetoric, none of his contemporaries would take that risk.
Now is the time for AJ to get his belts back, by any means necessary. Force Ruiz into the lion's den, if Ruiz beats AJ in the UK, hats off to him. If AJ wins then maybe a rubber match in a neutral territory or Stateside down the road. For now, though, I'd love to see Joshua-Ruiz II in either Cardiff or Wembley.
You make an interesting points. I think you are right that the fight in UK will likely provide the most money and show some maturity for the new champion.
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The contract will most likely be the deciding factor in where the fight takes place, that or money, but traditionally it is the champion that had the final say on where a fight takes place and rightfully so. Even though Aj did fight Ruiz on home turf, that was Aj's decision one that he had earned the right to make. I think Ruiz as champion should also be given that right, he earned it.
Personally I hope AJ wins a really hard close fight, because it will show Ruiz's win was no fluke and adds another big name to the heavyweight mix. At the end of the day i just hope these top guys stop avoiding each other and playing the blame game and make the fights happen.
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Looks like the fight will take place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia......the home of heavyweight boxing??
If this is true I'm disappointed considering SA's complete disregard for human rights.
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So Matchroom announced a date and venue though Ruiz has apparently not signed up for it, i honestly thought that the rematch wouldn't even happen and it wouldn't surprise me if it fell apart...
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At this juncture, I can't easily predict who Will win between these two guys, the thing is, AJ really needs that home advantage, but the thing is that he's eager to prove people wrong by letting Ruiz determine the turf for the rematch, and that May be a very big mistake, however I wish him well really in trying to get back his title against a relentless opponent.
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