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Andy Ruiz Jr has defended his weight gain ahead of his rematch against Anthony Joshua.

The heavyweight world champion scaled 283lb on Friday afternoon, 15lb heavier than he was before he upset Joshua in June.

In contrast, the challenger will walk to the ring 10lb lighter than he was when he was spectacularly dethroned in New York.

But after speculation Ruiz had not prepared for the sequel in Saudi Arabia, he insisted his true weight is much lower.

"They made us wait until 4:30, almost 5pm here,” he told The Athletic .

"I already had ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, I had on a sombrero and all my clothes.

(Image: Getty Images)

"A lot of people are saying that I came overweight or this and that but we had to wait so long.

"I probably put on 10 pounds just eating and drinking normally today. I would’ve been at like 268 without all that stuff and haven’t had eaten. If we weighed in at 11am I definitely would have been less."

Ruiz was also criticised for his appearance before he dropped Joshua four times en-route to a seventh-round stoppage.

But he claimed he has no reason to change a winning formula.

(Image: Getty Images)

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"Since I am bigger now, I can move him around more and hopefully have some extra pop on my punches," he added.

"We were lighter during camp but then I thought being the same weight or heavier would be an advantage.

"We did so many 12 rounds of sparring so the conditioning is still there. He is going to be boxing me around so I can stay with him. I want to be strong; I don’t want to worry about the weight."

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Ruiz's defence was echoed by his trainer Manny Robles who also insisted his fighter's weight was false.

When asked if he thought there had been an error, Robles told ESPN Deportes : "I think yes, it was because of the conversion from kilos to pounds, you also have to bear in mind the increase with his clothes."

"He is well prepared, like always."