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Anthony Joshua made up for the only defeat of his career so far by gaining revenge with a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr, reclaiming the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles in the process.
After suffering the first defeat of his professional career on 1 June this year, Joshua knew he could not afford a second consecutive upset against Ruiz, otherwise he would risk falling away from the top end of the heavyweight division.
With the fight controversially taking place in a purpose-built arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the big names normally in attendance were not so obvious to spot. But a number of leading names from the squared circle were still in attendance in the shape of Canelo Alvarez and Frank Bruno, while one of the current greats of the Octagon was on show too in the form of UFC world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Joshua looked a very different fighter to the one that crumbled six months ago, with the leaner Briton able to maintain space between himself and the champion and dive in and out of range to stay away from Ruiz’s bludgeoning shots.
Ruiz on the other hand looked slow and sluggish – a victim of the extra weight that he had put on after coming into the rematch more than a stone heavier than his last fight – and as a result he could not pressure Joshua as much as he wanted.
As a result, the fight never really took off, with Joshua doing damage in the form of a cut in the very first round before suffering one himself in the second due to a clash of heads. In the end, neither proved decisive, and though Ruiz was able to pinch the fourth round on all of the scorecards and the eight on two of them, he never got going.
On the undercard, Dillian Whyte returned to action with a dull points victory over Mariusz Wach, though Alexander Povetkin and Michael Hunter served up a 12-round thriller that ended in a split-decision draw.
Here’s how the night unfolded in 65 spectacular pictures.
Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in picturesShow all 65 1 /65Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The Diriyah Arena hosts the rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The purpose-built 15,000-capacity arena was erected for the bout in fewer than six weeks.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov arrives at the Dirayah Arena.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez arrives at the Diriyah Arena.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fans attemped to remain dry as rain struck the arena early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz There were fears the undercard could be cut short due to rain but defiant fans remained in their seats for the bouts.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Umbrellas and ponchos were a familiar sight across the crowd.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But they did not let the weather dampen their spirits on the night.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz A sparse crowd watched on as the undercard got underway.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fans smile in the rain ahead of the opening bout.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Zuhayr Al Qahtani kicked off the bill in an eight-round bout for the WBC Middle East Lightweight Championship against Omar Dusary.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani (right) attempts to land a right hand on Dusary.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani looked the more livelier boxer early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani and Dusary tumble to the canvas after losing their footing.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Zuhayr Al Qahtani vs Omar Dusary Al Qahtani celebrates his victory by unanimous points decision.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Fears that females would not be allowed to attend were immediately dismissed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Hopey Price vs Swedi Mohamed Hopey Price celebrates beating Swedi Mohamed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Flip Hrgovic vs Eric Molina Flip Hrgovic celebrates beating Eric Molina.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little The referee stops Tom Little in the second round to hand victory to Majid.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little Majid celebrates his stoppage win.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Dillian Whyte vs Mariusz Wach Dillian Whyte defeated Mariusz Wach.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter Michael Hunter arrived in the ring in full Predator attire ahead of his bout with Alexander Povetkin.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter The pair dished up a thrilling 12-round heavyweight slog.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter Both Povetkin and Hunter hit the canvas without taking counts as the fight went the distance.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Alexander Povetkin vs Michael Hunter The judges scored the contest a split draw.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Promoter Eddie Hearn makes his way into the ring ahead of the main event.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Announcer Michael Buffer prepares to welcome Joshua and Ruiz to the ring for the main event.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Michael Buffer introduces the challenger Anthony Joshua.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua looked nervous as he made his way to the ring.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua points to the sky as his name is read out.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The magnitude of the night looked crystal clear on Joshua's face.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Champion Andy Ruiz makes his way to the ring with the WBA, IBO and WBO
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz stares down Joshua across the ring.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz immediately looked to take the centre of the ring and walk down Joshua.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Whereas Joshua looked to keep distance between himself and Ruiz.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua landed a big right hand to cut Ruiz above his left eye in the first round.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz brushed off the cut and got back to business quickly.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz did have blood flowing down his face early on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz's face shows the damage of the opening round.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua suffered a cut in round two after a clash of heads.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The two began to trade as the fight wore on.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua was able to keep Ruiz at his range and dominate the fight.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz at times managed to work inside and give Joshua something to think about.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz shaded the eighth as he got Joshua flush.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But the ninth proved a scrappy round as the two started to become edgy.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The two needed splitting apart on one occasion.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The referee had to give Joshua a ticking off when he refused to acknowledge him.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But the battle quickly resumed.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua was able to re-establish his dominance.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And in the 11th Joshua caught Ruiz with a powerful straight right that put the defending champion in reverse.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz The strong round meant that Ruiz needed a knockout to retain the belts, but it never came.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua celebrates at the end of the bout while Ruiz is tended to.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Announced as a two-time champion, Joshua reclaims the titles.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And while he opened the door to a third match against Ruiz, he insisted there is no decision on where his future lies.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua decided to praise his opponent and say he would be happy to do it a third time.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz While Ruiz admitted that he got his preparation wrong and put on too much weight.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz accepted that he was sluggish that played into Joshua's hands.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Promoter Eddie Hearn celebrates with Joshua after the victory is announced.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua grins with the titles back in his corner.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz And he was quick to put the straps back around him and show off his gold.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Ruiz could only watch on after the losing the titles.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz With Joshua now a two-time world champion.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Joshua's large entourage joined him in the ring to celebrate.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz But Joshua made sure he took a moment to celebrate with his father too.
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Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr II in pictures Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz By the end of the night, Joshua was back on top of the world.
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Within minutes of the victory, Joshua was ordered by the WBO to fight mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, while Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are other potential opponents should a third fight with Ruiz not happen immediately.
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