Controversy and Cash: Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia

Controversy has come to haunt the much-awaited second encounter between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia scheduled for later this year. 

Saudi Arabia has had a tainted history when it comes to human rights. Time and again, it has come under scrutiny for suppressing the rights of people, especially women and certain sections of specific communities. Recently, women's rights activists, lawyers, and members of the Shia minority community have all been targeted there. For long, Saudi Arabia has been purported to be a haven for people trafficked for the purposes of slave labour and commercial sexual exploitation. The highly-publicized alleged state-sponsored assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in October last year had created ripples in the international community. Over a period of last two years, the state-regulated coordinated onslaught on dissenters, human rights activists, and independent clerics has continuously made headlines in major newspapers all around the world.

Saudi Arabia has always been reluctant in adopting the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stating that it contradicted the sharia law. It is also not a participant of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which includes freedom of religion.

It is quite natural that when any international event is announced to take place in Saudi Arabia many heads turn. The 2018 Supercoppa Italiana, played at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January this year created quite a stir. Likewise, WWE also faced severe criticism for scheduling their pay-per-view Super ShowDown at the same venue in June this year. Similar concerns were raised when British boxer Amir Khan went ahead with his fight against India’s Neeraj Goyat in July.

Earlier this year, Andy Ruiz Jr. defeated the defending champion Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden.

The same old controversy has once again taken the centre stage with the announcement of probably the biggest fight in the heavyweight division – Andy Ruiz Jr. versus Anthony Joshua. This happens to be a rematch to their first encounter on June 01 this year, when after accepting the fight on a short notice Ruiz Jr. scored a major upset by defeating Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles, and to become the first heavy champion of Mexican descent. Now, their second encounter is scheduled to take place on December 07 this year, in Diriyah, on the outskirts of Riyadh.

It is worth noting that in August, Andy Ruiz Jr., for reasons best known to him, had shown 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 controversy and hoped that this match between the two - dubbed the "Clash of the Dunes" would “change boxing forever.” Addressing this controversy at a media conference in London, Hearn said:

We had approaches from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi; we wanted to go somewhere that believed in the sport of boxing, which had a vision. We already knew Saudi Arabia was for real and knew they were investing in the sport of boxing. That was very important for us. 

If Saudi Arabia is going to invest in these fights, with the population they have, with the potential to grow the sport of boxing, you could be seeing a big change in the dynamics of the sport, which truly excites me. 

I knew that when we made the decision not every response would be positive, and that there would be criticism and controversy. I'm a boxing promoter and sometimes the criticism and the curiosity will lead to an event of an extraordinary magnitude.

It seems that Mr. Hearn has taken some inspiration from the title of the book ‘Controversy Creates Cash’, written by Eric Bischoff of WWE. It gives the impression that he hopes to reap the benefits of this unfortunate condition that is severely affecting a large number of people. It is not surprising because business always has reigned supreme over any type of humanitarian issue. Money always beats all.

Human rights activists have put questions to the existing hypocrisy. They question the governments which, on one hand, use stern words against Saudi Arabia, but otherwise happily send their citizens to participate there. They put forward that to gain public support people in high positions cry over the actions of the Saudi government but when an opportunity arrives the same people use propaganda as a means to earn money because, apparently, there is no such thing as bad publicity!

Many around the world have voiced against any kind of involvement with the Saudis. Questions are being raised as to why international events are being continuously organized there despite dire allegations of human rights violations and calls for a boycott? They point out the monetary gains. They call this scenario a perfect example of the popular phrase “money talks”. 

There is no doubt that there would be greater implications if such matters are not resolved quickly, rightly, and efficiently. It remains to be seen how such issues are tackled in the coming future.  

Just so you know, Saudi Arabia will also host the world's richest horse race in 2020.

Reference
Human Rights Watch's World Report 2019: Saudi Arabia


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