Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has made it clear that his client will be the one who decides where the rematch between him and Andy Ruiz Jr. will take place.
The 29-year-old Joshua (22-1) dropped his world titles last month when the Mexican-American Ruiz Jr. (33-1) stopped him in the 7th round. Days after the fight, the rematch clause in the contract was activated, but there is still nothing official.
Last week the British promoter stated that there are two possible venues for the highly-anticipated bout – New York (November 29) and Cardiff (December 12). In the past few weeks, the unified heavyweight champion of the world stated that the fight must take place in USA or Mexico, but according to Eddie Hearn, it’s up to the former champ to decide the venue.
“Andy Ruiz Jr is an honorable stand-up guy. He knows what he signed and it wasn’t unfair what he signed but he has contractual obligations that he has to meet now. Andy Ruiz was chosen from a group of people because we believed he would be the best most competitive fight for Anthony Joshua – we were right,” Hearn told IFL TV.
“And then, if he was to win that fight, as set out in the contract there were a number of terms that he would have to adhere to. It’s very standard. It’s not, ‘oh that was out of order, he is the A-side now’.
“No, this was what was agreed by both parties. Negotiated and agreed. Joshua will be the one who ultimately decides where that fight takes place.”
