So it is natural that when an international event is announced in Saudi Arabia, heads turn. The 2018 Supercoppa Italiana, played at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, in January this year created quite a stir. Both politicians and rights activists were unhappy with the agreement. Likewise, WWE also faced criticism for scheduling their pay-per-view Super ShowDown at the same venue in June this year.

The issue has once again taken the center-stage with the announcement that the biggest fight in the heavyweight division – Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua – will take place on December 7 this year in Diriyah, on the outskirts of Riyadh. This will be a rematch of their first encounter in June this year. After accepting the fight on a short notice, Ruiz Jr. had scored a major upset by defeating Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles and become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. Andy Ruiz Jr. has vowed to retire Anthony Joshua with a win.

It is worth noting that in August, Andy Ruiz Jr., for reasons best known to him, had expressed his displeasure with the selection of Saudi Arabia as the venue for the bout. He wanted the fight to take place in New York.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn addressed the issue and hoped that this match between the two – dubbed the “Clash of the Dunes” would – “change boxing forever.”

Speaking at a media conference in London Manager Hearn said:

It appears that Hearn has taken some inspiration from the title of the book ‘Controversy Creates Cash’, written by WWE’s Eric Bischoff. Is he looking at this controversy as means to attract more viewership to this event?

Organizers in Saudi Arabia have put forward a reported fee of $40m (£33m) to host the event. Anthony Joshua and his team, though, are not willing to back down on the issue. Soon after the controversy broke, he said:

According to The Guardian, Amnesty International UK’s head of campaigns Felix Jakens said that any talk of reforms in the country could not be trusted.

Whatever be the case, there is no doubt that this bout is going to gain a lot of attention. And just so you know, this won’t be the last big-ticket event to be held in Saudi Arabia as the country hopes to host the world’s richest horse race in 2020.

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