Unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr 33-1 (22) has defended his weight ahead of his highly anticipated rematch with Anthony Joshua 22-1 (21) in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion weighed in at 283-pounds on Friday afternoon in Riyadh, a full 15-pounds heavier than when he upset Joshua at New York’s Madison Square Garden six months ago.
By contrast, Joshua came in 10-pounds lighter than the first fight at 237-pounds.
There have been suggestions from some quarters that Ruiz Jr is underprepared for the rematch, but the 30-year-old Mexican-American was similarly criticised before he knocked out Joshua in seven rounds in June.
“They made us wait until 4:30, almost 5pm here,” he told The Athletic.
“I already had ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, I had on a sombrero and all my clothes.
“A lot of people are saying that I came overweight or this and that, but we had to wait so long.
“I probably put on 10 pounds just eating and drinking normally today. I would’ve been at like 268 without all that stuff and haven’t had eaten. If we weighed in at 11am I definitely would have been less.
“Since I am bigger now, I can move him around more and hopefully have some extra pop on my punches,” he said.
“We were lighter during camp but then I thought being the same weight or heavier would be an advantage.
“We did so many 12 rounds of sparring, so the conditioning is still there. He is going to be boxing me around so I can stay with him. I want to be strong; I don’t want to worry about the weight.”
Trainer Manny Robles suggested their may have been an error recording Ruiz’s weight.
“I think yes, it was because of the conversion from kilos to pounds, you also have to bear in mind the increase with his clothes,” Robles told ESPN Deportes.
“He is well prepared, like always.”
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