Official: Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr.

Just confirmed Andy Ruiz Jr. wins the Joshua/MSG June 1st sweepstakes.

Anthony Joshua was looking for an opponent to make a splash in his United States debut and Luis Ortiz has been looking for another title shot since his loss to Deontay Wilder.

So what went wrong? Did Ortiz price himself out or did Eddie Hearn get tight with the green?

Ortiz Side:

Ortiz’s management claimed that they got lowball offers from Hearn. They said they were willing to take the fight on short notice and Ortiz was ready to fight. Later some news came out that Ortiz and his management weren’t on the same page. Also the Wilder camp has promised Ortiz a rematch with a big purse and they didn’t want that opportunity to be thrown out with a bad performance against Joshua.

Hearn Side:

Eddie Hearn said that Ortiz was the biggest name and the best option to replace Miller and make a splash. Hearn said, Joshua’s first choice was Ortiz as well and went after him very strong  with offers starting at about $5 million and increasing the offer to maybe $7/$8 million. Hearn said it was an uphill battle because Ortiz is holding out to fight Wilder.

The Heavyweight landscape is as interesting and confusing as ever.