By Doug Berman: Dereck Chisora says that it wasn’t Anthony Joshua’s decision to stage his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia. It was his promoter Eddie Hearn who made the call to put the Joshua-Ruiz Jr. 2 rematch in Saudi Arabia on December 7th, says Chisora.
Chisora: It’s all about money with Hearn
According to him, it was all about money for Hearn. He says that if Mexico had offered the most money for the Joshua-Ruiz rematch, the second fight would be staged in Mexico. It was always about money for the second Joshua vs. Ruiz fight. Chisora says Hearn is getting $14 million for rematch, and Ruiz $10 million. Joshua will get all the rest of the money. It’s unclear how much the Saudis are giving Hearn to stage the fight in Saudi Arabia. Whatever it is, Joshua, Hearn and Ruiz are going to make a lot of dough for the December 7th ‘Clash on the Dunes’ event. $14 million for Hearn is a huge sum. Eddie is making more money than Ruiz, according to Chisora.
If that figure is accurate, it looks odd that he’s making more money than IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs). He’s the unified champion.
Joshua had no say in Ruiz rematch taking place in Saudi
“I’m buzzing. I’m excited,” said Chisora to IFL TV about his October 26 fight against Joseph Parker. “There’s a couple of hiccups in the camp. You’ll find out soon. It’s a problem with me and David, but it’s okay. I want to smoke that guy [Parker]. This fight is going to be buzzing. I’m going to go crazy, man. If you watched me and Dillian [Whyte] in the first fight. If you thought that was a good fight, watch me and Parker.
I am ready to go, and I am ready to die in the ring. And, I am going to go to town. I am buzzing. I’m buzzing. Boxing this year has been great. That’s not Joshua. That’s Eddie Hearn,” said Chisora when asked about his thoughts on AJ’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. taking place in Saudi Arabia. “You know how much Eddie makes from that? He makes $14 million. Ruiz makes $10 million, and AJ makes the rest. It’s about money. Let’s say that the Saudis have offered so much money, and then the Mexicans say, ‘we’re going to give you this more money.’ The fight would be in Mexico. It’s about money. People don’t understand. It’s about money, point blank,” said Chisora.
It wouldn’t be a shock to the boxing world if Hearn was the driving force in placing the Joshua-Ruiz rematch in Saudi Arabia. It obviously wasn’t Ruiz that made the decision to take the rematch to Saudi Arabia. Ruiz wanted the fight to take place in Mexico or the United States. Joshua was okay with staging the fight back in New York or in Cardiff. Hearn came up with the idea of staging it in Saudi Arabia. It sounds like Chisora sees it as a move motivated solely for money.
Chisora says “nobody cares about the titles” involved in Joshua-Ruiz rematch
“Nobody cares about the titles,” said Chisora. “That’s why the fight between Deontay [Wilder] and AJ took so long to happen, because nobody wanted to pay the right money,” said Chisora. “Yeah, he better,” said Dereck when asked if Joshua will beat Ruiz in the rematch on December 7th. “The greatest thing about when you lose when you’ve been at the top is the come back. People like the come back better. It’s about training and going back in there and making it right,” said Chisora.