Ring girls will be axed from Anthony Joshua's fight with Andy Ruiz in order to respect Saudi Arabian culture.

The country enforces strict laws on what women can wear and ring girls' attire goes against those rules.

Joshua takes on the Mexican in a rematch of their bout in June, which Ruiz won in the seventh round by TKO.

The fight was expected to take place in either the UK or US before Saudi Arabia came in with a huge late bid to send the mega clash to the desert.

It will take place in the purpose-built Diriyah Arena which reportedly holds 14,000 fans.

Promoter Eddie Hearn had initially said they were open to the idea of a women's fight on the undercard, but that never materialised.

But the former British heavyweight champion is excited about the prospect of locking horns with his opponent in the Middle East.

He said: "It’s going to be an incredible night and I’m thrilled so many of my fans are going to be there, particularly from the UK.

"It’ll definitely be a night people will tell their grandchildren they were at, one of those iconic evenings of boxing. Everyone from Saudi has been brilliant to work with."

The fight will take place around 9pm UK time on Saturday, December 7 and will be live on Sky Sports Box Office for an increased price of £24.95.