A conspiracy theory has begun following Andy Ruiz Jr. scaling FIFTEEN POUNDS heavier than for his first meeting with Anthony Joshua.
Despite seemingly dropping blubber in the build-up, Ruiz weighed in to audible gasps from the Riyadh crowd on Friday.
Wearing all his clothes, including sneakers and a hat, ‘The Destroyer’ was announced at a whopping TEN YEAR high of 283.7 pounds.
Once the shock had died down, people began to wonder how that could be. The main target was the sombrero Ruiz was wearing.
Questions began to be asked like, ‘what’s in the hat?’ and ‘is he hiding something under there?’ – Fans and media alike were stumped.
“Ruiz has weighed in a stone heavier, he weighed in with his T-shirt on and jogging bottoms. I honestly don’t believe it I think it’s a last mind trick against AJ he probably put weights in his hat or pockets,” said one commenter on social media.
“Ruiz’s Mexican hat looked like it weighed at least 1/2 a stone,” stated another.
Others gave their views by saying: “I reviewed both weigh-ins and I noticed Ruiz did not strip down. He had his cell phone in pocket and hat. So I have a feeling he weighs less than 283. I believe he weighs 268 like his first fight, but chose not to strip down for some reason. I think it’s mind games by Ruiz.”
“Ruiz weighed 268 in boxers in June, now he’s 283 fully clothed with trainers and a sombrero. I doubt he’s actually much different. If AJ is now overthinking Ruiz’s weight just as much as everyone else then fair play to Ruiz. He could have had weights in his jeans for all we know.”
Later, trainer of Ruiz Manny Robles claimed the scales were off and the heavyweight champion really scaled closer to 273 pounds, which would make more sense.
Take off five pounds for the clothes and hat, then Ruiz could have conceivably weighed the same as the New York collision.
For his part, Joshua came in at 237.8 pounds. The Brit was a full ten pounds lighter than he was in June. The lightest he has been for any fight since 2014.
‘AJ’ is obviously going for speed and may well be hoping to see out a points victory. Should Joshua manage to go the full twelve, there doesn’t seem any fathomable way Ruiz would gain a decision in the Middle East.
That could be the main tactic for Team Joshua this weekend.
Official Weights from Saudi Arabia:
WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF heavyweight titles
Andy Ruiz, Jr.: 283.7 lbs.
Anthony Joshua: 237.8 lbs.
Heavyweight bouts
Alexander Povetkin: 229.3 lbs.
Michael Hunter: 226.8 lbs.
Dillian Whyte: 271.1 lbs.
Mariusz Wach: 270.0 lbs.
Filip Hrgovic: 241.1 lbs.
Eric Molina: 248.0 lbs.
Mahammadrasul Majidov: 231.0 lbs.
Tom Little: 250.1 lbs.
The main event is expected to begin at approximately 4 p.m. following a stacked event featuring four additional heavyweight fights. The event is live exclusively on DAZN in the United States.
