A press conference was held in London on Monday to officially announce the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr.

Eddie Hearn and Omar Khalil spoke to the media at the Savoy Hotel, detailing the bout scheduled for December 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua will be trying to win back the IBF, WBA and WBO belts he lost to Ruiz at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 1 June.

Ruiz, an American, had insisted that the rematch take place back in the United States or at a neutral venue. Diriyah is a town on the outskirts of Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital.

The bout is part of a wider strategy by the Saudi authorities to portray the country as a modern, tourist-friendly destination, and several boxing events have taken place there over the past year.