Andy Ruiz Jr. wants to complete the trilogy with Anthony Joshua
Joshua vs Ruiz Jr. III and Fury vs Wilder III would make perfect sense
Andy Ruiz Jr (34-2, 22KOs) has told Eddie Hearn he wants to take on Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22KOs) for a third time after the Brit's mega-fight with Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs) collapsed.
Joshua was set to face the Gypsy King in Saudi Arabia on August 15, but the WBC titleholder must now face arch rival Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs) after an arbitration hearing ruled he had a right to a third fight – by the date of September 15.
Fury's bout with Wilder has already been confirmed for July 24 in Vegas, while Joshua has been told by the WBO that he must face mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk. Promoter Eddie Hearn has been told he has until May 31 to agree terms with the Ukrainian's team before purse strings are called.
But the promoter insisted he would seek the best deal for Joshua, whether that be a clash with Usyk or another opponent, and listed Ruiz and Dillian Whyte as possible options.
He told iFL TV: 'In an ideal world, if there's good business to be done with Oleksandr Usyk, it's got to be good business for him as well, that's the fight next.
'I wouldn't rule out any scenario at the moment for Anthony Joshua.
'We've probably got 10 days to decide what we're going to do.
'There's quite a few (options). If you're going to America, he's already messaged me, it's like deja vu, Andy Ruiz.
'He messaged me on Instagram and said: "I'm ready, let's do this, AJ v Ruiz three".
'That's a fight I think we'd be interested in, if you're going to America, Luis Ortiz is another guy you could fight.
'If you're doing the UK, I don't know…Dillian Whyte, that's a fight to make.'
Joshua reclaimed his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts by beating Ruiz in December 2019 after being shocked by the Mexican six months earlier.
The Brit had been the 1-25 favourite to win their first bout but Ruiz knocked him down four times on his way to a seventh round stoppage.
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