Anthony Joshua has promised Andy Ruiz Jnr his turn for a shot at revenge if the Briton regains his world heavyweight titles in their rematch here on Saturday night.
The trilogy fight suddenly became a real possibility after Joshua went through a few minutes of his shadow-boxing motions at a public training session in the chilly desert night.
Joshua said: ‘We will definitely be seeing each other a third time as long as Andy remains dedicated to boxing after I win this one. Which I am going to do.’
The drop in temperature discouraged Joshua from removing his t-shirt and offering a full inspection of his apparently slimmer body. This discovery is becoming something of a striptease. One due to reach fulfilment when he reaches the ring in the new Diriyah Arena. He does, though, look slimmer of waist and hip. Joshua, whose public workout was put on in front of a battery of cameras and a smattering of locals, said of his weight: ‘I’ve not changed anything deliberately. My only focus is on winning.
‘There will be blood and fireworks on Saturday night but only winning matters.’
Ruiz, who knocked out Joshua on June 1 in one of the ring’s biggest upsets, is also said to have lost weight in search of even more speed — but he looks his familiar chunky self.
Ruiz, clearly not troubled by those who are against this fight due to the terrible human rights record of this country, said: ‘You will be seeing a lot more of me in fights in Saudi Arabia.’