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The heavyweight title rematch takes place in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
By far the biggest combat sports event this weekend is the highly anticipated heavyweight championship rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr and challenger Anthony Joshua, who lost his WBO, IBF, and WBA titles to Ruiz in shocking fashion back in June. While their first encounter took place in New York, the rematch is in one of the most logical places in the world to host a big boxing match: Saudi Arabia.
It helps when the Saudis are paying a reported $40 million site fee.
With the makeshift arena built in Diriyah, the stage is set for this massive clash between the underdog-turned-champion Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) and the British superstar Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs), you’re probably wondering about the logistics of what time the fight will happen. Thankfully, we have our answer.
The main card kicks off at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT, so it’s boxing for breakfast/brunch for those watching in North America. When the all-heavyweight undercard is complete, the main event ringwalks are scheduled for approximately 3:45 PM ET/12:45 PM PT.
#RuizJoshua2 Fight Week Schedule
(Including Main Event Timing ) pic.twitter.com/ZCTVXH63El
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) December 3, 2019
This is also an advantageous time for UK fight fans, as that means the fight should start at 8:45 PM local time. Meanwhile, barring something totally screwy happening, Joshua vs. Ruiz 2 will be finished by the time UFC on ESPN 7 starts, which is 5:45 PM ET/2:45 PM PT.
Bloody Elbow will have live coverage of Ruiz vs. Joshua 2 on December 7th.