Official weighing is an important ritual in professional boxing. One day before the fight, the counterparties must prove that they are not above the contractually agreed weight limit. Not only do many boxers starve before they step on the scales, they literally dry out their bodies so they do not have one gram too much.
That's not necessary in the heavyweight division. The class is open at the top. Whether a boxer with 100, 120, 150 or even 200 kilograms is in the ring, does not matter regulation technology. Accordingly, weighing is more or less beloved folklore. Nevertheless, it is staged and medially accompanied, because the fighters are directly facing the famous Staredown and look deep in the eyes. The weight is normally not taken into account.
World Champion Andy Ruiz jr. and Anthony Joshua is different. And that alone shows that this duel is not a normal heavyweight fight. On Saturday evening (from 21:15, live stream: Dazn) the two face each other for the second time. The first clash on June 1st at legendary New York's Madison Square Garden had won Ruiz a sensational win and Joshua lost his world title after the release of the IBF, WBA and WBO.
Too many muscles as the reason for the defeat?
Joshua had gone into the fight on his US debut as the clear favorite. Ruiz, a stocky American with Mexican roots who calls himself a "small, fat boy", had to step in as a replacement for the doping-bred Jarrell Miller.
At first it seemed as if the fight would take the expected course. In the third round, Joshua knocked his opponent down. The premature end seemed to be only a matter of time. Not only did Ruiz survive the following attacks, he counterattacked and hit Joshua hard enough for the Brit to be counted twice in the same round. After two more rainfalls in lap seven, it was over - and Ruiz crowned himself the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent.
Joshua quickly decided to use his contractually agreed right to an immediate rematch. What speaks for the British: He did not seek excuses, but simply acknowledged that Ruiz was the better man that day. "I did not finish what I started," Joshua said, looking at the rainfall in the third round. After that, he had a concussion suffered. Another possible reason for the defeat: Joshua could have been too muscular.
Not a boxer, but bodybuilders
This may sound confusing at first, but can actually be a problem in boxing. Muscle mountains, especially in the upper body, look impressive, but also consume a lot of oxygen and can therefore cost condition. In addition, the clout comes not primarily from the poor, as you might think, but from the entire body. A firm footing, the right rotation from the hip and speed are much more important factors than a pronounced biceps.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, along with Joshua and Ruiz currently the best heavyweights in the world, know that. They have repeatedly criticized Joshua in the past for not looking like a boxer, but like a bodybuilder. Although Wilder is taller than Joshua, he is much lighter and lankier. And in the past, Fury often coquetted with the fact that his physique does not suggest that he is a professional athlete. The same applies to the "small, fat boy" Ruiz, who is 1.88 meters ten centimeters smaller than Joshua, in the first fight but just under ten kilograms more on the scales brought as the Briton.
Above all, two things were discussed before the rematch: Firstly, about the special venue. Instead of organizing the fight as originally announced in Joshua's British homeland, promoter Eddie Hearn sold the event to Saudi Arabia. The event, for which a mobile arena was set up in the former capital city of Diriyya, is said to cost the Saudi royal family a total of around 100 million US dollars.
"If something is not broken, you should not fix it"
The other main theme was the weight of both boxers. Joshua has actually lost muscle mass - allegedly on the advice of his former opponent Wladimir Klitschko. The Briton seems narrower, especially in the upper body and no longer as defined as in June. At 107.5 kilograms, he weighs almost five kilos less than at the first meeting with Ruiz. That's how easy Joshua was in a fight in November 2014.
In Ruiz, this is a bit different. The new World Champion had actually announced to want to get a little slimmer in the ring than in the first duel. Thereupon, however, a number of experts came forward to discourage him. "If something is not broken, you should not fix it," said Mike Tyson. After all, Ruiz understood very well how to move his excess kilos through the ring and convert it into energy.
When weighing surprised Ruiz with a fighting weight of 128 kg. Compared to the first fight, he has lost no weight, but added another nine kilos. Unless the sombrero with which he climbed on the scales was particularly heavy.
In the end, it will not be the nearly 20 kilos difference between Ruiz and Joshua that decide the fight, but the faster fists and more precise hits. Actually, it had been assumed before the first fight that Joshua would have to be the better man in both areas. In the rematch, both boxers have a lot to lose: Ruiz his surprisingly won championship belt and Joshua maybe his whole career, including the prospect of even bigger fights against Fury and Wilder.