Joshua’s promoter reacts to sparring injury ahead of Ruiz rematch
Anthony Joshua takes on Andy Ruiz Jr on Saturday, December 7, in Saudi Arabia for the world heavyweight titles.
Anthony Joshua was rumoured to have been hurt in sparring in the lead-up to his world title rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr – but the Brit’s promoter Eddie Hearn has rubbished the claims, stating that AJ is ‘good to go’.
A report by World Boxing News surfaced on Monday which states that Joshua was ‘hurt’ during a sparring session over the last few weeks.
Joshua has changed up his sparring massively from the first fight, which saw him box with fighters similar in stature to original June 1 opponent Jarrell Miller.
But when Miller had to pull out of the fight after three failed drug tests, Ruiz stepped in, leaving Joshua with a problem finding new sparring partners.
AJ lost the fight via seventh-round TKO but will now get his chance at redemption on Saturday in the Diriyah desert.
It was also claimed before the first clash that Joshua had been dropped in sparring by fellow heavyweight Joey Dawejko.
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But regarding the latest rumour to come out of Joshua’s highly-talked about camp, Hearn has said that none of it is true, referencing sparring partner Timothy Moten’s claims that the Olympic gold medalist has been sending fighters home.
“[The rumour] from World Boxing News, the same guys who said Joey Dawejko cleaned AJ out in sparring in the summer,” Hearn told Behind The Gloves.