The British-Nigerian heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua has defeated the Mexican-American heavyweight boxer, Andy Ruiz Jr at the Diriyah Arena, Saudi Arabia to reclaim his IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
Joshua lost the titles to Ruiz in a shocking June defeat in New York, United States.
With his victory, Joshua has joined greats such as Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield on the list of heavyweights to reclaim world titles on the first attempt.
Dominating from the onset, Joshua won by margins of 118-110 on two scorecards with the third judge making it 119-109.
The bout which lasted until the full 12 rounds was scored 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109 by the judges.
Speaking on his victory, Joshua said: “I wanted to put on a boxing masterclass.”
“First of all, thanks to god. The first time was so nice, I had to do it twice,” he said.
“I knew I could win this. This is about boxing, I’m used to knocking guys out.
“I gave the man his credit, I said I would correct myself, I respect Andy, But I wanted to put on a boxing masterclass.
“It’s the sweet science, it’s about hitting and not getting hit.
“No change in mentalist, stay hungry and stay humble. I’m going to remain humble in victory. Thanks to Ruiz and his family, thanks to Saudi, the fans and thanks to god and Eddie Hearn.”
And his defeated opponent, Andy Ruiz Jr said at the post-fight press conference:
“Me, my dad, and my team were talking … I should have listened to them,”
“I think we started training too late. Three months of partying, celebrating, affected me.
“I shouldn’t have put on all this weight. I tried to do my kind of training on my own and I’m sorry to trainer Manny Robles, my dad, I got too confident in myself.”
See more photos from the fight below:
Photos: Getty Images, Kevin Quigley/Daily Mail