WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua will compete in the United States for the first time tonight, as he faces the challenge of Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Joshua was originally scheduled to be challenged for his unified heavyweight titles
by Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, who is from nearby Brooklyn. Miller, however, failed three d*rug tests and was not granted a license to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission in mid-April.
This will be Joshua’s eighth consecutive world title fight, his fifth straight with at least three world titles and his second defense holding four championships.
The 22-0 former Olympic gold medalist won the IBF championship with a win over Charles Martin in 2015 before adding the WBA and IBO titles by scoring a finish of Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 and the WBO title with a decision over Joseph Parker in March 2018. Joshua’s most recent fight came back in September when he retained his championships with a seventh-round TKO of Alexander Povetkin.
Ruiz accepted the fight with Joshua less than two weeks following his most recent outing, a fifth-round TKO of Alexander Dimitrenko on a Premier Boxing Champions card back on April 20. Ruiz has won three straight and has been victorious in all but one of the 33 fights in his career.
That one loss came in Ruiz’s only previous world title opportunity, a December 2016 bout with Parker for the then-vacant WBO title. Parker eeked out a majority decision in a fight some felt Ruiz had won.
The undercard will also feature championship action, as WBA/IBF/WBO Female Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor and WBC Champion Delfine Persoon will do battle to be called the undisputed champion of the division. WBA (Super) Super Middleweight Champion Callum Smith will be in action, facing the challenge of Hassan N’Dam.
FIGHT SPORTS brings you live coverage of Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.!