Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 2 Live Coverage & Discussion

Welcome to Fightful’s live coverage of Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 2 for the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. Six months after their first encounter at Madison Square Garden, the two heavyweight stars meet in Saudi Arabia for one of the sport’s biggest rematches of the year.

We’ll be bringing live round-by-round coverage of the main event and we’ll have a post-show podcast once the main event is done. You can join in on the discussion on our Disqus board below.

Here’s the main card with the main event scheduled to start around 4 p.m. ET:

• Anthony Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. by unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110, 119-109) to win the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles
• Diego Pacheco defeated Selamani Saidi by KO, round 1
• Alexander Povetkin and Michael Hunter fight to a split draw (115-113, 113-115, 114-114)
• Dillian Whyte defeated Mariusz Wach by unanimous decision (98-93, 97-93, 97-93)
• Ivan Price defeated Swedi Mohammed by TKO, round 3
• Filip Hrgovic defeated Eric Molina by TKO, round 3
• Mahammadrasul Majidov defeated Tom Little by TKO, round 2

 Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua: WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight

Round 1: Joshua starts feinting and using his jab to keep Ruiz from attacking on the inside. Joshua moves back and avoiding Ruiz’s short hooks to the body. Joshua throws a left hook upstairs and is keeping the action in the center of the ring. A few more jabs from Joshua and the former champion avoids trouble to start this rematch. 

Fightful scored round 1 for Joshua 10-9

Round 2: Ruiz lands a short left hook as he is already dealing with a cut near his left eye thanks to a right hand from Joshua in round one. Joshua barely connects on another right hand to that cut. Joshua connects with a quick left hook upstairs, but Ruiz still remains composed. Joshua lands another right hand but there is some blood on Joshua’s face. 

Fightful scored round 2 for Joshua 10-9

Round 3: Joshua moves around the ropes and throwing the left jab. Ruiz throws a quick left hook and misses with the right body jab. Joshua continues to use his length and distance to outbox the champion. Joshua digs in and lands a short left hook to the body.

Fightful scored round 3 for Joshua 10-9

Round 4: Ruiz is struggling to close the distance in the first minute. Ruiz remains in the center of the ring giving chase to Joshua, who continues to stick and move with the left jab. Ruiz misses with a hook but then lands a solid jab. Joshua misses with the right body jab and Ruiz barely lands a right hook. Joshua still moving back and landing the jab. Joshua blocks a three-punch combination from Ruiz, then lands an uppercut, followed by a couple of left hooks. Ruiz closes the round with a couple of hooks.

Fightful scored round 4 for Joshua 10-9

Round 5: Ruiz landed a left hook, but Joshua was able to put a hand up to partially block it. Ruiz is now jabbing away to the body and hoping to close the distance right then and there. Ruiz misses with the right jab to the body. Joshua lands a quick left jab to Ruiz’s face, followed by the left jab. 

Fightful scored round 5 for Joshua 10-9

Round 6: Ruiz misses with the left and then lands a right hook. Joshua then throws a right to the body and the two fighters trade. Joshua moves back and once again, the jab has been key for the former champion. Every round has been similar to each other with Ruiz barely landing a big punch and chasing Joshua. Late in the round, Joshua is moving more and having an easier time avoiding the big punches.

Fightful scored round 6 for Joshua 10-9

Round 7: Joshua lands a quick hook, followed by a straight right hand. Referee Luis Pabon warns Ruiz to not hit Joshua in the back of the head. Ruiz and Joshua trade briefly in the center of the ring, but Joshua still avoids Ruiz’s big punches. 

Fightful scored round 7 for Joshua 10-9

Round 8: Ruiz throws the right hand and Joshua ducks under to avoid it. Ruiz is seemingly frustrated with his inability to land a big punch. He does pressure and Joshua lands a couple of hooks, giving him a ton of confidence. Ruiz lands a couple of hooks and Joshua is briefly stunned.

Fightful scored round 8 for Ruiz 10-9

Round 9: Joshua moves back to try and duplicate the success he’s had against Ruiz in the first seven rounds. Ruiz still struggles a bit against Joshua’s length. Late in the round, Ruiz lands a big right hand to the side of his head.

Fightful scored round 9 for Ruiz 10-9

Round 10: Joshua continues to use the jab, but Ruiz has been able to figure out Joshua’s gameplan and has been more successful at disrupting his rhythm. Joshua moves back, but Ruiz lands a quick left jab to his opponent’s chest. Ruiz didn’t land a big punch like he did in the last two rounds.

Fightful scored round 10 for Joshua 10-9

Round 11: Joshua and Ruiz trade single left jabs. Ruiz throws a wild right hand to the ropes and Joshua avoids trouble. Joshua landed another jab moving back. Midway through the round, Ruiz has difficulty even getting to Joshua’s body and appears to be tiring out a bit. 

Fightful scored round 11 for Joshua 10-9

Round 12: Joshua lands a big right hand to Ruiz’s chin. Joshua then lands a left uppercut while Ruiz’s cut is opening up once more. Ruiz continues to chase and struggle at landing the big punches. 

Fightful scored round 12 for Joshua 10-9, making it 118-110 for Joshua

Official Result: Anthony Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. by unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110, 119-109) to win the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles