Anthony Joshua comes face to face with Andy Ruiz Jr this Wednesday for the first time since he was unceremoniously relieved of all his world heavyweight titles on that sensationally upsetting night in New York.

They meet in Saudi Arabia, where Joshua will have his chance on December 7 of reclaiming his crown from the first Mexican ever to be become world heavyweight champion.

Riyadh sees the start of their whistle stop promotional tour which goes on to New York on Thursday and winds up in Londonon Friday.
They will take intense stock of each other.

Joshua will be hoping for visual confirmation of reports that the rotund surprise package who dropped him four times inside seven rounds in Madison Square Garden three months ago has not only been eating more Snickers bars than ever but also celebrating high on the hog.

Ruiz will be looking for differences in Joshua, too. Physically, whether he has reduced muscle mass to achieve a more mobile boxing physique. Psychologically, if he seems more switched on, focussed and less complacent.

'They don't know s*** says Ruiz of the rumours that instead of keeping in even his portly shape he has been too busy buying a southern Californian mansion and a white Rolls Royce as well dining with Mexico's president and making the rounds of the US television chat shows. 

'We working,' he insists on Instagram. 'But I hope they believe it all so they don't take me serious again.' AJ says of the doubts swirling around him: 'I never recovered from a lucky punch early on' and promises that he will not take Ruiz lightly second time around. 

He also denies being knocked out in sparring before the first fight, which if that gossip were true should have meant him being put on concussion suspension and missing his US debut. Which given how calamitously it went might not have been a bad thing.

We will not get the whole truth until they collide again in the Riyadh ring, which will reveal Ruiz's condition and whether Joshua has made any adjustments in training to combat an unexpectedly clever opponent. But how they interact with each other at these media conferences will also offer clues as to their state of body and mind.

The worry for Joshua's loyal UK fan community is that if nothing has changed between them, it is hard to see what he can do prevent a repeat of the nightmare.

And if that were to happen the inescapable conclusion would be that he and his team, being less than certain of victory wherever it takes place, have traded home advantage under the roof of Cardiff's Principality Stadium for the insurance of a Saudi fortune.

Aj is winning