- ‘AJ’ landed in the Kingdom ahead of his upcoming rematch with World Champion Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah
- First world heavyweight title fight to be held in the Middle East
RIYADH: Anthony Joshua has promised the world an ‘iconic evening of boxing’ as he landed in Saudi Arabia on Saturday ahead of his rematch with world champion Andy Ruiz Jr in the Clash On The Dunes.
The boxing superstar landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as he arrived to set up his pre-fight training camp in preparation for the bout on December7.
The first world heavyweight title fight to be held in the Middle East, the "Clash On The Dunes" will take place in the custom-built 15,000 seat Diriyah Arena, in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Joshua will be looking to regain his WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO belts after suffering defeat to Ruiz in New York earlier this year, but the British heavyweight will have the backing of thousands of UK fans, who join boxing enthusiasts from more than 60 countries.
Anthony Joshua said: “It’s going to be an incredible night and I’m thrilled so many of my fans are going to be there, particularly from the UK.
“It’ll definitely be a night people will tell their grandchildren they were at, one of those iconic evenings of boxing. Everyone from Saudi has been brilliant to work with."
The Clash On The Dunes forms part of the Diriyah Season, a month of sports which kicked off with Formula E this weekend, the Diriyah Tennis Cup featuring eight of the best men’s players, and the Diriyah Equestrian Festival - an elite competition with Tokyo Olympics 2020 qualifying points on the line.
The Diriyah Season is also supported by the Diriyah Music Festival with huge concerts taking place around the event. On December 6, the night before the Clash On The Dunes, major artists who are yet to be announced will perform. So far artists such as Imagine Dragons, DJ Alan Walker, Clean Bandit and Maluma have performed to 40,000 concert goers.