Andy Ruiz Jr. Expanded To 283 Pounds For His Rematch To Anthony Joshua, The Second Heaviest Title Defender Since 7-Footer Nikolay Valuev

Stephen A. Smith may have a heart attack if Andy Ruiz Jr. beats Anthony Joshua again in their rematch this Saturday.

After Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) knocked Joshua out in the seventh round of their June fight to take his three heavyweight world title belts after just one month of preparation, Stephen A. was exasperated. He pejoratively called Ruiz, who weighed in at 268 pounds for the fight, “Butter Bean” and all but ripped the belt off his size 60 waist.

But Stephen A.’s comments coupled with the thousands of internet memes about Ruiz’s porky figure did not shame him into slimming down for the rematch. It empowered him to double-burger down.

For Saturday’s rematch against Joshua, the 6-foot-2 inch Ruiz weighed in at a hefty 283.7 pounds, the heaviest he’s weighed in his 10-year career since his first two matches at 290, ESPN reports. Another wild stat: No boxer has ever entered a title defense heavier except for 7-footer Nikolay Valuev, who was a mammoth 310 pounds.

This is a far cry from Ruiz’s trainer, Manny Robles, initially wanting his fighter to weigh in in the 250s since they had three months to prepare.

https://twitter.com/AllOfTheBelts/status/1202948245074403330?s=20

Joshua, on the other hand, actually lost weight from the initial Ruiz fight when he clocked in at 247.75. At the weigh-in Friday, the British boxer weighed 237 pounds with what looked to be negative 20 percent body fat.

I’m going to tell my kids this is Ron Artest and that dude who ran onto the court during Malice at the Palace.

The first heavyweight world title fight to take place in the Middle East will take place on Saturday (DAZN, noon ET, main event at approximately 3:45 p.m. ET). Follow this link to tune in to what promises to be an incredible event.

Let’s go.

[h/t ESPN]