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OpenView to air Joshua and Ruiz Junior rematch on Saturday in Saudi Arabia

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Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr inside the Diriyah Arena during the Clash On The Dunes Press Conference at the Diriyah Arena on December 04, 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Picture: by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr inside the Diriyah Arena during the Clash On The Dunes Press Conference at the Diriyah Arena on December 04, 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Picture: by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

There is relief for South African boxing enthusiasts who have been wondering where they will watch the much-anticipated boxing heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Junior on Saturday.

South Africa’s free satellite platform, OpenView, confirmed that it has obtained the exclusive broadcast rights to air the fight in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

This after pay-TV SuperSport announced that it will no longer screen the rematch scheduled for Diriyah in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

“OpenView will be the exclusive broadcaster of the rematch, in South Africa ... and will be broadcast exclusively on OpenView channel 115 at midnight (Central Africa time),” said the satellite TV provider. It added that boxing fans must “purchase the OpenView decoder at leading retailers for a once-off purchase of R499 with no further monthly costs”.

Meanwhile, SuperSport has since apologised to its subscribers for the blackout.

“Regrettably, SuperSport’s acquisition of broadcast rights has fallen through due to the supplier being unable to deliver on our deal. SuperSport made every reasonable efforts to bring this rematch to DStv subscribers but that has unfortunately not materialised. We apologise for this and share viewers’ disappointment,” said the channel.

Saturday’s fight is rated as the biggest rematch in recent heavyweight boxing memory.

British star pugilist Joshua (30) will look to avenge his seventh-round knockout loss to Mexican Ruiz Junior (30) in June last year and reclaim the IBF, WBA and WBO titles.


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