Ruiz Plays Oliver Twist, Demands More Purse for Rematch with Joshua

Ruiz Plays Oliver Twist, Demands More Purse for Rematch with Joshua

Even though the date and venue of the rematch of Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua has been fixed for December 7 in Saudi Arabia, the Mexican is reportedly refusing to sign unless he gets a much higher purse.

When both fought last June in New York, Ruiz Jnr got £5 million for his stunning win while the loser, Joshua pocketed  £20 million

This time around, the Mexican purse is fixed for £7.5m. He is complaining, saying he wants ‘significantly’ more before he agrees to the bout.

The rematch for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles is supposedly set to take place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on December 7.

Ruiz Jr scored a shock victory over Anthony Joshua in June, and Joshua quickly activated a rematch clause in his contract after the fight.

He was originally supposed to fight Jarrell Miller, but Ruiz Jr was brought in after the former failed a drugs test.

The Mexican dropped Joshua to the canvas four times before the referee finally stopped the bout in the seventh round.

Joshua was pushing for the rematch to be held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, and original venue Madison Square Garden was also in the running.

However organisers in Saudi Arabia have put forth $40million (£33m) to host the event, and now Ruiz looks to be trying to get paid too.

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