On Wednesday, we got to see the final press conference for Ruiz vs Joshua 2.
The first press conference held in Dubai felt disjointed, as if everyone on stage had only just met before being plonked in front of the media.
This final press conference felt more like a theatre group doing their first script reading. Nervously stumbling over one another and occasionally forgetting their lines. This wasn’t a boxing press conference, this was the Saudi Arabia’s attempt at redefining their image in the face of the world.
Similarly to a fuck boy who cheated on his girlfriend and is looking to rekindle the romance, Saudi Arabia couldn’t just accept responsibility or show signs of changing in their apology message, and instead opted to show off how great they are to provoke jealousy.
However, for most of us, learning how quickly they built the event’s stadium or how they’ve been buttering up the boxers doesn’t really impress. Sure, you built a stadium in 8 weeks, but what are the working conditions for those completing the work? Questionable, to say the least.
I understand that everyone involved in the event probably had a very big cheque come in the post from Saudi Arabia, but does this really justify letting the country use this boxing event as an opportunity to push their political regime?
I’m not sold.
SIR THORNEY 