December 7 Showdown: Saudi Laws scraps ring girls for Joshua, Ruiz rematch

There will be no ring girls involved in Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr on December 7 due to the strict laws in Saudi Arabia.

Promoters of the bout have decided to respect the local laws which therefore means scantily-clad women holding up numbered boards inside the ring before each round would not be seen for Saturday night’s rematch in Diriyah.

From the moment that the rematch of the 1 June contest was handed to Saudi Arabia, a decision was taken to not include any ring girls throughout the event in order to prevent any controversy arising within the country.

The decision will add to the calls against the fight being staged in Saudi Arabia at all.

The government imposes strict rules on women living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that places certain requirements on what they have to wear in public, which includes this Saturday’s heavyweight title bout.

Promoters Matchroom and Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, the chairman of the General Sport Authority in Saudi Arabia, have already had to strongly defend the decision to stage the bout in the Middle East, which followed a reported $70m [£54m] bid to beat New York and various other tenders to the hosting rights.

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Furthermore, there will also be no female fighters on the bill this weekend, despite Irishwoman Katie Taylor being included on the undercard last June in her victory over Delfine Persoon.