Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is giving Andy Ruiz Jr. the biggest chance of his career on Saturday. Yes, Ruiz wasn’t the first choice for Joshua—his slot was originally for Jarrell Miller, who ended up failing multiple drug tests—but three years after his first opportunity at a title, Ruiz will be back on the biggest stage in boxing.
Regardless of who he’s fighting, Joshua is a must-watch. He owns three of the four heavyweight titles (Deontay Wilder holds the other), and Joshua has plenty of big-time punching power and boxing skill. Tyson Fury might be the best pure boxer in the division, and Wilder is the hardest hitter. But Joshua is a good combination of both, and he might be the best overall heavyweight. He’d like to prove that to Ruiz on Saturday.
Here’s everything you need to know to live stream the Joshua vs. Ruiz fight on DAZN.
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.
- When: 7:30pm ET on Saturday, June 1
- Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City
- Streaming: DAZN
- Cost: $19.99 per month or $99.99 for one year
What is DAZN?
In the past, Joshua’s fights in the U.S. could be seen on Showtime and HBO. But now he’s fighting exclusively on DAZN in America, and the only legal way to see him take on Ruiz on Saturday is to have a subscription to the streaming service. Take heart, though. It’s one of the best values in boxing. Last month, subscribers saw Canelo Alvarez beat Daniel Jacobs, and next week, they can watch Gennadiy Golvokin make his DAZN debut. You can also watch potential rising stars like Devin Haney and Regis Prograis as well. All it costs is $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the entire year.
The service has been available in the U.S. since September, and considering it’s streaming more than 100 fight cards per year, it’s been quite a find for boxing and MMA fans. By its own admission, DAZN is doing its best to try to kill the longtime boxing PPV model, and so far, it’s finding plenty of fans.
DAZN works with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and both iOS and Android phones. All you have to do is download the DAZN app and log-in with your subscription credentials. You can also stream via computer browsers Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Opera. (You can our full DAZN review here.)
Joshua vs. Ruiz odds
Joshua is a -3000 betting favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $3,000 on him to win a paltry $100.
Joshua vs. Ruiz: Why it matters
The top three heavyweights in the world are Joshua, Wilder, and Fury. Wilder and Fury fought to a controversial draw last year, and though they had nearly finished negotiations for a rematch, Fury, at the last minute, signed with a new promoter and took his talents to ESPN+, effectively killing Wilder vs. Fury II. Wilder and Joshua have publicly jousted for a few years about facing each other, but so far, that hasn’t happened. And neither has Joshua vs. Fury.
For now, we’ll have to be content to watch Joshua face Ruiz, who’s a solid fighter in his own right but who probably isn’t on the level of Joshua, Wilder, or Fury.
Still, Ruiz (32-1, 21 KOs) has had some encouraging performances. He certainly doesn’t look like the bodybuilder that Joshua’s form presents, but Ruiz has victories against former world titlist Siarhei Liakhovich and Ray Austin. In the biggest fight of his career, he lost a narrow majority decision to Joseph Parker for one of the heavyweight belts in 2016. (I actually scored the bout for Ruiz.)
Now, he gets a second chance at a title.
“A lot of people underestimate me—the way I look, my appearance, but as soon as they see me throw punches, I’m going to pull out the upset,” Ruiz told Matchroom Boxing. “This is what I have worked for my whole life, I’m here to take what Anthony has. I’m ready to shock the world.
“People will see what I can do. It’s going to be an all action fight, with two big guys punching each other in the face, hard. I’m in this to win it. Everyone else that has fought him has lost before they get in there, I’m not thinking like that, and that’s the difference.”
But taking on Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) is a monumental challenge, and the champion isn’t taking him lightly.
“He’s more of a sound, well-balanced guy,” Joshua said. “He keeps his feet underneath him and has good head movement. You throw the right hand and he will just duck it, come under and hook you twice. He’s got that kind of confidence in his ability that he can counter-punch and he’s not afraid to have punches coming at his face and slipping them to get back to you. He’s not a scared fighter at all.”
Joshua vs. Ruiz live stream schedule
- Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.
- Callum Smith vs. Hassan N’Dam
- Katie Taylor vs. Delfine Persoon
- Chris Algieri vs. Tommy Coyle
- Josh Kelly vs. Ray Robinson
- Joshua Buatsi vs. Marco Antonio Periban
- Souleymane Cissokho vs. Vladimir Hernandez
- Diego Pacheco vs. Jared Chauvin
- Austin Williams vs. Quadeer Jenkins
