Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua rematch

[Kirkland Laing]

If I was Ruiz I would demand fucking everything to make sure I was financially secure for life - and the next generation.

If he loses the rematch (for the record , at present, I don't believe he will) he's not going to be getting a rematch or another big pay day any time soon and will have to build up again - these guys who get labelled one time wonders have a habit of disappearing.....

How long have they got to sort this rematch it's doing everyone's head in.

I think it's fair to have it in the UK and will be in the contract. But as for the pay day fuck yes Ruiz should milk it.

If Matchroom are even minimally competent at drawing up contracts, and I'm sure they are, Ruiz' purse for the rematch will have been included in the original contract. He'll be able to stamp his foot and make threats and may get a few extra quid but it won't be anything substantial. Maybe he'll get a Nando's all-you-can-eat-free card valid for however long he's in Britain.

I remember Whyte turning down the April fight specifically because the rematch clause stipulated what he would be entitled to which was in his opinion very low.

These rematch clauses need to be banned and made illegal.

Even assuming it would be possible to ban the formally legally codified result of the disparity in negotiating leverage between a champion and a challenger, which it isn't, why would you want to do this? What difference does it make?

I think they banned "options" in boxing, where the promoter of the champion has a say in the next fight(s) of the challenger should they win. So they could do the same with rematch clauses, it gives the challenger very little say in the next fight in terms of money, venue and other key factors of their career. It could be argued Ruiz could earn far more if he was free to negotiate on a fair level field.

How can you ban options? It's something negotiable and something challengers are willing to give up to get a crack at champions. Ruiz could earn more if he was free to negotiate but he isn't because he signed a contract. And he signed the contract because it was a massive opportunity for him that has actually paid off. When he signed it he had zero negotiating leverage. Almost zero, Joshua was desperate for an opponent. But Joshua could have fought anybody really. The contract Ruiz signed was a fair reflection of his worth in a commercial deal. He's only on the hook for one fight and then he's free. Just going back a few years the Klitschkos used to have options on three or four future fights for anybody they fought. Go back a century and fighters would be willing to pay the heavyweight champion most of their future purses for a fight for the title. Champions have the right to look after their interests as much as is legally possible. Joshua is only doing what anybody else in his position would do. It's a short career.