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Andy Ruiz Jnr v Anthony Joshua
11:17am - Will we really see another fight between these two?
"If you heard, you'll see a third," rhymes Joshua.
Ruiz seems interested and admits he came into this fight too heavy, seven kilograms heavier than their last meeting.
Promoter Eddie Hearn talks up his man, but dodges the question of another rematch.
11:08am - The Result
Joshua beats Ruiz, unanimous points decision
Two judges score 118-110, the other 119-109.
The two rivals obviously have deep respect for one another and embrace warmly after the result is announced. Joshua was clinical with his performance and Ruiz must regroup now, if he hopes to mount another challenge in the future.
Joshua is a superstar of British sport and now he can resume his career, after that hiccup in June. Now the question for Kiwi fans is which belt will he defend - WBO or IBF - and what does that mean for Joseph Parker?
"Man, the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice," boasts Joshua, now a two-time world champion.
He talks about returning to boxing basics and staying humble.
11:05am - 12th Round
The final round - Ruiz needs a miracle to retain his titles.
Joshua rings his ball with a swinging right to the head and Ruiz just can't get close enough to match him.
Joshua is still bouncing and dances away from Ruiz, who calls for him to stand still in frustration.
The bell rings and Joshua must win on points. Not a pretty performance, but businesslike.
11:01am - 11th Round
Second-to-last-round and Joshua's jab is still the dominant factor in this fight.
Ruiz shuffles Joshua into the ropes a couple of times, looking for the opening, but the Brit defused the danger quickly and dances away.
Not enough from Ruiz.
10:57am - 10th Round
The end is in sight and Ruiz is running out of time to steal this fight. He needs to take some risks, because he is well down on points.
This is a lot like watching Joseph Parker lose to Joshua last year - he's just not landing enough shots.
Not much in that round.
10:53am - Ninth Round
Ruiz sniffs a chance here and Joshua must return to a disciplined gameplan, keeping his rival at bay and picking him apart with his jabs.
With 30 seconds left, Joshua lands a combination that will take points for the round.
10:49am - Eighth Round
In a clinch, Ruiz rips Joshua with a couple of fights to the body. Mid-round, he connects with a right to the back of the head and Joshua grumbles again.
Ruiz is luring Joshua into close contact and connecting with more punches. Joshua is sent reeling with 15 seconds left.
Round to Ruiz.
10:45am - Seventh Round
It's become apparent that Ruiz can't allow this contest to go the distance, because he can't gather enough points.
Joshua continues to keep him at bay and Ruiz is warned for a shot to the back of his head.
Into the final minute of the round, Joshua stings Ruiz and they exchange words. Ruiz misses with a left hook.
10:41am - Sixth Round
Joshua is out boxing Ruiz, who struggles to get inside his rival's reach - he just can't land anything of consequence.
The opponents glare at each other, after Ruiz hits Joshua with a low blow and the Mexican apologises.
10:37am - Fifth Round
Ruiz is stalking Joshua, with blood still dribbling down his face.
Joshua connects with a left to the head to take points.
10:33am - Fourth Round
Ruiz shows his hand speed, but just can't find his target on a couple of occasions. He's still commanding the centre of the ring, while Joshua is content to pick his opponent apart.
In the final seconds, Joshua connects with a straight right, but Ruiz closes with close-range righthands that seem to hurt.
Round to Ruiz.
10:29am - Third Round
Ruiz is controlling the centre of the ring, still looking for a way past Joshua's reach.
Joshua connects with a couple of body shots near the end of the round to give him points.
10:25am - Second Round
Ruiz lands a left one-two jab, but Joshua re-opens that cut over his eye with another right.
Joshua connects with a flurry to Ruiz's head, but the Mexican responds with a right hook in the final seconds.
Maybe another to Joshua, although he also has a cut now.
10:22am - First Round
Ruiz finally takes his shirt off and looks in terrible shape. Of course, he looked pretty flabby in June, when he lifted the crown off Joshua, so we all know that means little.
Joshua also towers above Ruiz, who's looking for a way inside his rival's reach.
Late in the round, Joshua connectsd with a right hand that opens up a cut above Ruiz's left eye.
Round to Joshua.
10:16am - LADIES & GENTLEMEN, FROM THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUMBLLLLLLE!
10:06am - Ruiz follows, looking determined. While Joshua wore something that looked like a bathrobe that he stole from the hotel, Ruiz wears something that looks like an Eskimo outfit... in the middle of the desert.
He handles the ring entry better than Joshua.
10:04am - Joshua walks out by himself, looking pretty relaxed. He's got no belts, so no need for an entourage.
The Brit has trouble stepping between the ropes, but eventually figures it out.
9:55am - We're now in countdown mode for the main event, as ring announcer Michael Buffer introduces the Saudi Arabian national anthem.
Buffer's getting big bucks for this appearance, but David Diamante has done a pretty nice job on the undercard, rocking his dreads.
9:45am - Well, that didn't fill in much time at all. Saidi has suffered his 16th professional defeat within the opening round, copping a massive right hand from Pacheco, who is unbeaten now in eight fights.
Medical staff are taking some time to scrape Saidi off the canvas, before the result is fianlised.
9:39am - The card is running a little early, so we've got another 'floater' fight to fill in some time before the big contest.
It's a super-middleweight bout between Tanzanian Selemani Saidi and American/Mexican Diego Pacheco.
Alexander Povetkin v Michael Hunter
9:28am - 12th Round
Povetkin & Hunter draw on points
Povetkin needs a good round, but Hunter may have swung the verdict his way.
Both fighters stumble to the mat, with Povetkin on top, looking more like a UFC bout than boxing.
Neither takes a clear advatnage in that round and a close decision looms.
In fact, the judges can't separate the fighters - 115-113 Povetkin, 115-113 Hunter, 114-114.
No-one's really happy with a draw, but it was certainly a close fight and the result doesn't really damage either record.
"I think it was a 50-50 fight, so I want to congratulate Michael on a good rumble," says Povetkin.
Hunter isn't happy and both fighters confirm they would like to meet again.
9:24am - 11th Round
Hunter connects with a flurry of combinations that rock Povetkin mid-round. He's now behind and needs a big finish.
A head clash momentarily stuns Hunter, but he continues to land some big blows. Povetkin tries to retaliate, but that's an easy round for the American.
9:20am - 10th Round
With the end in sight, Povetkin looks like he means business, visibly lifting a feat to start the round.
Hunter's punches appear to lack power at this stage, while Povetkin's are venomous - the Russian takes that one.
9:16am - Ninth Round
Hunter comes out swinging, perhaps sensing he's slipping behind, after a great start.
Maybe Povetkin lands a couple of punishing combos late to take the round.
9:12am - Eighth Round
Khabib Nurmagomedov has apparently entered the building - the UFC fighter distracts the crowd from the action in the ring, as Povetkin continues to stalk his opponent.
Another close round.
9:08am - Seventh Round
Povetkin gets inside Hunter with a right-left combination and continues to soften up his opponent. After that torrid start, he's fought his way back into the contest and may just be edging ahead.
Hunter unleashes a flurry of swinging punches, but Povetkin ties up his arms, so few of them actually connect.
9:04am - Sixth Round
Hunter tries to re-establish himself, keeping Povetkin at arm's length as much as he can. Povetkin is picking his moments, but not much in that round.
9am - Fifth Round
Starts out as a much better round for Hunter, connecting with an early straight right to Povetkin's head.
But mid-round, Povetkin rocks Hunter, who looks to his corner to reassure them... he's not.
By the end of the round, the American is just hanging on and glad to reach his stool.
8:56am - Fourth Round
Povetkin is now picking his targets and has Hunter back-pedalling. He's taking charge of the fight and clearly won that round.
8:52am - Third Round
The pace of this fight has levelled out, after a torrid opening round, with Povetkin now on the front foot. That round was much closer, with the Russian landing a telling left rip to Hunter's body.
8:48am - Second Round
Hunter connects with an early straight right to Povetkin's face, sending the Russian stumbling backwards.
Povetkin comes back with a swinging right to the head in the closing seconds and seems to have found his feet again.
8:44am - First Round
Hunter rockets out of the blocks, putting Povetkin on the canvas within seconds. That's not a knockdown as such, but certainly the American has been the early aggressor, as he continues to land big punches throughout the round.
Povetkin is staggered a couple of times more and looks the worse for wear. Round to Hunter easily.
8:30am - Hunter and Povetkin are making their way to the ring in that order.
'Bounty' Hunter wears a costume from the movie Predator, adding to the drama of the occasion, although his entry music is a monologue that kills the vibe.
No frills for 40-year-old Povetkin, who strolls out, humming what sounds like a Russian folk song.
Hunter has an 18-1 record, with 12 knockouts. His only loss is to WBO No.1 contender Oleksandr Usyk two years ago.
Povetkin has a 35-2 record, losing to Klitschko and Joshua.
Dillian Whyte v Mariusz Wach
8:18am - 10th Round (final round)
Whyte beats Wach, unanimous points decision
Both fighters are emptying the tank and maybe Whyte is finding more to get over the line.
Wach is rocked mid-round, but stays on his feet to reach the final bell. Good contest, but Whyte should take it.
"I boxed nowhere near my standard," Whyte says. "I've been through hell these last couple of months and people have been screwing me, left right and centre."
Next up, Alexander Povetkin v Michael Hunter.
8:14am - Ninth Round
Whyte has landed some low blows during his fight, but Wach finally has to walk one off and the referee warns the Brit.
The Pole has now taken the upper hand and Whyte's tank may be empty. The power is gone from his punches and he's spending more time on the ropes.
As the bell goes, Whyte is taunting his rival, but he is really just hanging on.
8:10am - Eighth Round
Wach lands some big punches in the latter half of that round, as Whyte seems to have gone off the boil somewhat.
Doesn't Wach remind you of an older Ivan Drago though?
8:06am - Seventh Round
Wach is 39 years old, with a 33-5 record, including defeats in his last three outings. Among those losses are Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
Not sure how much he has left in him, but he's not rolling over on Whyte, who may have edged another round.
8:02am - Sixth Round
Wach is proving a big target for Whyte, who has found a way through the defences with a left uppercut.
The Pole's nose is trickling blood, but when he can find his range with those long arms, he looks dangerous.
Probably another round to Whyte.
7:58am - Fifth Round
Wach found his way through Whyte's defences during that round, including a left to the Brit's head - maybe the Pole took that round.
7:54am - Fourth Round
A very slow-paced fight, but Whyte probably took that round, connecting with some looping overhand rights, a ripping left to the body and a damaging left uppercut,
Wach had his moments though and is durable.
7:50am - Third Round
That belonged to Whyte, who landed some heavy shots on the Pole, behind a powerful jab.
To his credit, Wach absorbed them and is still very much in the contest.
7:46am - Second Round
Not much between these two, with both enjoying good moments in that second round. Whyte is showing his power, but Wach's height gives him some angles that expose his smaller opponent at times.
7:42am - First Round
Wach starts the better of the two, using his height (2m/6ft 7in) to advantage, bu towards the end of the round, Whyte comes back to land a couple of telling blows to head and body.
7:28am - You might recall Dillian Whyte is the 'other' fighter to defeat Kiwi Joseph Parker as a professional, which he achieved in July 2018.
Since then, 'The Bodysnatcher' has beaten Brit Dereck Chisora and Colombian Oscar Rivas, but his career has stagnated, with reports of failed drug tests. Organisers insist he has been cleared for this fight, but he seems to have tumbled down the rankings as a result.
The fighters are drying their shoes, as they enter the ring, so rain is still a factor.
7:13am - Price beats Mohamedi, third-round stoppage
Price connects with a straight left that rocks his opponent, who back-pedals rapidly, but the referee steps in to stop the contest. The crowd are bewildered by the sudden end - although Price was clearly in command, Mohamedi wasn't exactly overwhelmed and clearly could have continued.
Next up, Dillian Whyte takes on Mariusz Wach.
7:04am - Promoters have snuck in a super-bantamweight contest between Brit Hopey Price and Tanzanian Swedi Mohamedi, who loses his mouthguard midway through the opening rounds.
6:56am - It's raining in Saudi Arabia, which caused some problems in that last fight, where they had to pause near the end of the second round to mop up puddles.
How will this affect the big fight?
Filip Hrgovic v Eric Molina
6:50am - Round Three
Hrgovic beats Molina, third-round knockout
That's it - Molina cops another heavy punch on the back of the head and can't get up. It's his own fault, because he continually dropped his head, leaving himself exposed to that outcome.
Hrgovic is now unbeaten after 10 fights and that was his eighth KO. He takes something called a WBC International title, which seems like the heavyweight second division, but maybe he looms as a Parker opponent in the future.
"I am very satisfied with my performance," says Hrgovic, who is unrepentant over his blows to the back of Molina's head.
"This is war, man."
6:46am - Round Two
Hrgovic immediately has Molina in trouble at the restart and although the American responds with a series of punishing overhand right, he's still clearly not right and barely makes the bell again. Hrgovic does damage with a ripping left to Molina's body.
Two rounds to the Croatian.
6:42am - Round One
Molina barely makes the ball, complaining that his opponent has hit him in the back of the head. Hrgovic is unrelenting, taking Molina to his knees with a combination, but the round ends before the referee can start a count.
6:33am - Molina and Hrgovic are heading to the ring now.
You may recall, Molina ('The Drummer Boy') was a opponent mooted for Joseph Parker earlier this year, as the Kiwi's first bout under Matchroom Boxing, but the pair were unable to come to terms.
Instead, Parker met and beat Alex Leapai.
Croatian Hrgovic was a bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics and has had nine previous pro fights, winning them all, with seven by knockout. He towers at 1.98m (6ft 6in), about 5cm taller than Molina, who boasts a 27-5 record.
6:17am - Morning all, welcome to our updates of the Ruiz v Joshua rematch.
The undercard has already started, with one fight completed and one in progress - Mahammadrasul Majidov v Tom 'Not So' Little in a heavyweight contest.
Actually, the referee has stopped this fight in the second round, after Majidov connects with a right hook to the top of Little's head and the Briton's knees buckle underneath him.
That leaves Majidov, an Olympic bronze medallist, still undeated after two pro fights.
Earlier this morning, Zuhayr Al Qahtani maintained his unbeaten record to capture the WBC Middle East lightweight crown off Omar Dusary on a points decision.
The rest of the card looks like this:
Filip Hrgovic v Eric Molina - heavyweight
Dillian Whyte v Mariusz Wach - heavyweight
Alexander Povetkin v Michael Hunter - heavyweight
Andy Ruiz Jnr v Anthony Joshua - heavyweight
*****
Kia ora, good morning and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the world heavyweight title fight between champion Andry Ruiz Jnr and challenger Anthony Joshua, set in Saudi Arabia.
If Ali v Foreman was the 'Rumble in the Jungle' and Ali v Frazier was the 'Thriller in Manila', maybe this should go down as the 'Clash in the Dunes'.
Six months ago, few would have anticipated so much interest in a rematch between these seemingly mismatched opponents - the tall, powerful Joshua against the smaller, rotund Ruiz.
But that was before Ruiz did the unthinkable, stepping in as a late replacement to repeatedly floor his more-favoured rival, and eventually snatch the WBO and IBF belts.
Some now regard the Mexican as a real-life modern-day 'Rocky Balboa', the unlikely hero of Sylvester Stallone's movie series.
After all the distractions that come with such a sudden rise to fame, can he possibly repeat that performance?
NZ fans will watch with a special affinity to these two boxers. Kiwi Joseph Parker is the only professional fighter to beat Ruiz, when the pair met for the vacant WBO crown three years ago.
Before Ruiz, Parker was also the first pro to go the distance with Joshua, when he lost his WBO belt to the Briton in March 2018.
Depending on who wins this fight, and whether they decided to defend the WBO or IBF belt next, Parker's next outing may be another shot at a vacant title.
Join us at 8am, as we build up to the big fight...
Pre-fight read - Champion Ruiz even heavier for Joshua rematch
World heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jnr has weighed in seven kilograms heavier than six months ago, before his rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (NZ time).
Ruiz upset Britain's Joshua with a seventh-round stoppage at New York's Madison Square Garden in June to win the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO world titles.
He weighed in at 121kg for that fight, but this time, the Mexican has tipped the scales at 128kg for the return fight.
Joshua, who will earn NZ$132 million from the lucrative bout, weighed in at 107.5kg, which is 5kg lighter than the first fight.
The fight will be staged in a purpose-built 15,000 capacity stadium and is the first heavyweight fight to be staged in Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International has criticised the event, accusing the country of "sport-washing" to hide its poor record for human rights.
Joshua said he "would definitely be bothered" if the fight was used in that way, while Ruiz described the venue as the "perfect place to make history".
Amnesty International warned that Saudi Arabia was using sports to hide a crackdown on basic rights such as repressing free speech.
Regardless, Joshua has said that they are fighting in a relaxed atmosphere and that they have a responsibility to showcase boxing in other countries.
"I just came here for the boxing opportunity," the 30-year-old told the BBC. "I look around and everyone seems pretty happy and chilled.
"I've not seen anyone in a negative light out here, everyone seems to be having a good time.
"As an individual, I try to bring positivity and light everywhere I go. I'm just seeing it from my eyes alone, but for sure, the country in itself is trying to do a good job politically."
Joshua, who hopes to recapture the four belts he lost in a shock surprise loss, says a turnaround win in the Middle Eastern state would be his best achievement to date.
"How much do I want it? A whole heap," he said.
"I feel like I belong here, so it's not like it's something I am chasing. It's just a quest for greatness in myself.
"When I win, I am not going to be too surprised, as I believe this is my destiny and I belong in this position."
He added: "I'm punching loose and heavy - rhythm and flow.
"Before I was trying to bench-press a house. I used my body to get where I needed, but then I started realising the sweet science of the sport.
"I am punching like a horse kicking backwards right now."
Ruiz said: "I know he [Joshua] lost weight, and that he will try and box me around, so it's my job to prevent that.
"There is no way I am going to let these belts go - I will die trying."
DPA
