Joshua: No Interim Bout Before Ruiz Rematch

Despite the opinions of many around the boxing community, Anthony Joshua has no plans for a warmup fight before a rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.

Ruiz dropped Joshua four times when they met on June 1, finishing Joshua in the seventh round to give Joshua his first loss and win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.

Since the loss, Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have been gun-ho on Joshua invoking his rematch clause. Fight details are still currently being negotiated, mainly the location.

Many in the boxing community, including the legendary George Foreman, promoter Frank Warren, and fellow boxer Amir Khan, have criticized Joshua for taking an immediate rematch and wish the British heavyweight do a tune-up bout before facing Ruiz again.

But in an interview with Sky Sports, Joshua solidifies he wants nothing less than a rematch next.

“Anyone who tells me different, they ain’t cut from the same cloth as me. They ain’t true warriors,” Joshua said. “Anyone who’s like, ‘Oh, he should go have a warmup fight.’ Who’s my warmup fight gonna be? Usyk, Ortiz, Dillian Whyte? These are top-level boxers. And I’ve got the chance to fight for the heavyweight championship right in front of me.

I don’t fight, you know, B-class heavyweights. I’m fighting the best in the world, so I’m going straight for them titles. And that’s the guy I want, Ruiz. He’s got what I want, the titles, so let’s get it on.

Quotes via: Boxing Scene