BOXING mad Brits are splashing out as much as £15,000 for Anthony Joshua’s rumble in the desert.

The British heavyweight is set to scrap with Mexican-American rival Andy Ruiz Jr, 30, at the 15,000-seater Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

And despite the clash taking place 3,900 miles away from Joshua’s London base,it is expected to be a sell-out.

And while expats in the Middle East and locals are expected to make up a large part of the crowd for the much anticipated rematch, some loyal AJ fans from the UK have coughed up thousands of pounds to see the fight in person.

David Poulton, director of VIP hospitality company Sport and Music, said: “The fight is a long way from the usual venues in the UK and America, but that hasn’t put fight fans off.

“We’ve been inundated with demand for tickets and have put together some packages including hotels, flights and fight tickets which have been snapped up.

“One customer has paid £14,500 for a package which includes ringside seats, business class flights and accommodation in a luxury five-star hotel.

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“It’s going to be a great night and AJ will be glad to have some support at ringside in Saudi Arabia.”

Mexican-born Ruiz Jr stunned the boxing world by defeating Joshua, 30, with a seventh round stoppage in June.

Joshua is looking to reclaim the WBO, WBA (Super), IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.

His promoter Eddie Hearn has laughed off rumours that AJ has been injured in sparring ahead of the fight, as he insisted the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is "good to go".

Speaking of the speculation that Joshua has been hurt, Hearn told Behind The Gloves: "It's not even worth answering, but the truth is he's had a great camp.

"He's much more focused than last time, he's sparred really well. The difference in this camp is his sparring has been world, world class.

"He has had top, top guys – Andrew Tabiti, Tyrone Spong, Bryant Jennings, [Dereck] Chisora. Top sparring, who have consistently put pressure on him.

“He hasn't been hurt, hasn't been ill, hasn't been injured. He's good to go."

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