Barry Hearn, the head of Matchroom Sport, feels very confident that Anthony Joshua will get revenge on December 7th, when he faces Andy Ruiz in a rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz captured the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles when he stopped Joshua in seven rounds on June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Ruiz, who took the fight on late notice, went down in the third round - but then dropped Joshua a total of four times before the contest was waved off.

Hearn admits everyone in his company was in complete shock over the stunning outcome in June.

But he expects a much different outcome in December.

“I think we were all in a state of shock. I think we all acknowledged he got beat by the better man on the night, which was an even bigger shock.," Hearn told Gareth Davies of The Telegraph.

“Andy Ruiz was always a tough opponent. We knew everything about it. We knew he was capable, but appearances can be deceptive, he looked like a pizza delivery guy. Man mountain against pizza delivery boy, technical ability meant it was a very well matched fight. Heavyweight boxing needs those type of fights.

“AJ walked onto one and got beat. Welcome to heavyweight boxing. Ruiz signed for a rematch. The insurance policy is that Joshua has one chance back at it. Do you take your chance? Yes, of course you do. Anyone else who says different is just looking for column inches. You would fancy Joshua against Ruiz 99 times out of 100.” ?

While there were some critics who strongly believe Joshua should have taken another fight or two before facing Ruiz for a second time - Hearn explains that it was far too risky to step away from their immediate rematch clause.

“To refuse the rematch would mean you’d come back as a challenger with no claims. You’d be in a weaker negotiating place,” Hearn says. “You’re still one fight away. The downturn is massive. If you get beat in the second fight, you may not be finished but it’s a massive dent in the commercial side. You get over one. Lennox Lewis came back after one shock defeat and another, too.?

“Do we let Ruiz walk away with all the belts and not take the chance to get them back? Don’t be ridiculous. Anyone who says that is in cloud cuckoo land. This is the fight Anthony wants.”?