Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr rematch date and venue 'confirmed'

Ruiz dropped Anthony Joshua four times [Courtesy]

Anthony Joshua's rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr is set to take place in Saudi Arabia on December 7.

Joshua lost his three heavyweight titles when he was stopped by the Mexican-American on June 1 in one of the biggest shocks in the division's history.

The Brit immediately triggered the rematch clause in his contract in a bid to return the sport's summit.

Joshua will head to Riyadh for the rematch in December, which will be worth £70m, reports the Telegraph.

And he will start as the favourite, despite being dropped four times by the unfancied Ruiz.

Joshua had been a short odds-on favourite in New York and looked to be well on his way to victory after dropping Ruiz in the third round.

But he was immediately dumped on the canvas himself - and then again before the bell rang.

Ruiz then completed the job in the seventh round with a further pair of knockdowns.

Joshua made no excuses for his first professional defeat, despite rumours he suffered a panic attack in the dressing room before he walked out.

There were also reports - subsequently denied - that he was knocked out in sparring during his training camp.

The deposed champion said at the time: "Congratulations to Andy Ruiz, he has six months to be champion because the belts go in the air and he’s going to have to defend against myself.

"I wouldn't mind if it was in New York again, I wouldn't mind if it's in England. New York opened their arms for me and my team and it was phenomenal. I have to correct what went wrong and get the job done in the rematch."

Ruiz had demanded £40million for the second installment but will likely pocket a career-high £10m.

He also wanted the rematch to be held in Mexico but Joshua held the cards when it came to the venue.

Ruiz Jr said after his win: "I've been working really hard, man. I wanted to prove all the doubters wrong, I'd seen all the comments.

"Well, what do you know, I'm the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world. I'm still pinching myself to see if this is real, man. Wow.

"All I need to do now is get in shape and look like 'AJ', I want to get in really good shape.

"I'm going to get back in the gym and work even harder; I'm actually more motivated now I'm the champion.

"Before this fight, I always said I wanted to fight Joshua because I knew I could beat him, I knew he opened up too much. My speed and movement was always going to be too much for him."