Joshua v Ruiz 2: Ricky Hatton slams Saudi Arabia’s ban on alcohol and ring girls – The Sun
RICKY HATTON has blasted the booze ban and lack of ring girls in Saudi Arabia for Anthony Joshua's rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr tonight.
The British ring legend has claimed it will be a "let-down for British fans" due to the country's strict laws.
Alcohol is illegal in public places in Muslim countries and can only be drunk in some hotels.
Promoters behind the Joshua fight in Riyadh also opted to leave out the scantily-clad girls who hold up ring cards between rounds in order to avoid offending their hosts.
Women are usually dressed in burqas when out in public and must completely cover up any bare skin.
Joshua will try to win back his titles at about 9pm tonight.
He lost to Ruiz back in June in New York when the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round.
Hatton, who was beaten by Floyd Mayweather in 2007, blasted: "How many lads go to a boxing match, they go there to have a good holiday, to get p**sed, have a whistle of the ring card girls when they go in?
"It's like they've gone full circle. No ring girls, they can't go on the p**s.
"You're not going to have much of a holiday, to not look at any women and not get pissed, that's some lads' holiday!
"Our fans are the best they travelled to watch me to the ends of the earth, they travel wherever.
"People said to me 'Ricky, that Mayweather fight, you fought the best, the way you were beat, you gave it your best, 100 per cent, you really flew the flag for us and wore your heart on your sleeve'.
"'We went away with the lads, we went on the p***, we had a great time, this happened, that happened, never mind the boxing'.
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"It disappoints me as a fan but I totally see why. He's been offered millions upon millions so you can see why he's taken it."
Joshua has weighed in at one of his lowest weights ever.
His tactics appear to be to dance around and out-box slugger Ruiz, trying to avoid one of the powerful shots which took him down in the first fight.
But the Brit's career will surely be over if he loses again to the roly-poly Mexican.
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