Hearn: The winner of Ruiz-Joshua 2 is the biggest star of boxing

New York – Last June, Andy Ruiz (31-1, 20 KO's) dropped Anthony Joshua (22-1, 21 KO's) and won the WBO, the WBA, the IBO and American football. IBF heavyweight titles.

After countless days of negotiations to reach an agreement, the two men will face off in the December 7 revenge against Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

As part of their tour in the three cities, the two men have already met face to face in Saudi Arabia and New York. But there was a difference this time, according to Joshua Eddie Hearn promoter of Matchroom Sports.

"Both guys are a bit worried, whether they admit it or not, because it's a whole new experience," Hearn told the press in New York. "Ruiz had a little air of self-confidence, not arrogance. Joshua was reminded of how early he was. It has a lot more advantage than at the first press conference because at the first press conference [in June] he gave him his belt. Ruiz looked like a winner of the competition. "

But is there more pressure this time on one or the other fighter, Ruiz to prove that it was not a coincidence and for Joshua to prove that it was not a coincidence? he is still part of the elite fighters of the heavyweight division?

"Ruiz has behaved like a champion," Hearn said. "In terms of who has more pressure? Joshua seems to be hungry. Does all the money from the last fight mitigate Ruiz's advantage? We must see. If he wins this fight, he is the biggest star of boxing. If Joshua wins the fight, he probably is.

The fight will be ensured by the DAZN streaming platform at midnight in Saudi Arabia, 21h in the United Kingdom and 16h EST in the United States. For Hearn, the goal is simple: win the biggest boxing fight, then bigger fights after, mainly with Deontay Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KO's) and Tyson Fury (28-0-1, 20 KO ).

"It's the biggest fight in the world. We win, we start talking about the fights we've been talking about for 18 months, "Hearn said.