Anthony Joshua is scheduled to take on Andy Ruiz Jr in a defence of his IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Ruiz has been brought in as a late replacement for Jarrell Miller - who failed three drugs tests in the build-up to the fight - and much has been made of the size difference between the champion and challenger.

The division is packed with fighters who possess a similar height and reach to Joshua, but the 2012 Olympic gold medallist has plenty of experience of facing opponents who are smaller than him.

Here, Sports Mole selects five of Joshua's previous 22 foes who possess similar attributes to Ruiz.

Much was made of Povetkin being considerably smaller than Joshua ahead of their showdown at Wembley Stadium on September 22, 2018, but the Russian showed during the early stages that his hand speed and willingness to get up close could trouble the hometown fighter.

There was an argument that Povetkin was at least level on the cards at the midway point, before Joshua conclusively ended the bout with two big knockdowns in the seventh round.

Joseph Parker went into his unification showdown with Joshua in Cardiff on March 31, 2018 as an unbeaten world champion, and some felt that the New Zealander had the quick hands and power to stop Joshua.

That theory was enough for Joshua to focus on trying to out-box the WBO title holder. Parker became the first man to go the distance with Joshua in the professional ranks, but he never came close to causing the upset.

Carlos Takam has never possessed the hand speed of Povetkin or Parker, but the Cameroon-born fighter had a sturdier physique and was a solid-enough opponent for Joshua to be wary of counters.

Joshua - hindered by an injured nose - eventually ended a competitive clash in October 2017 via a controversial 10th-round stoppage, although Takam was never really able to make any dent in the champion.

Jason Gavern was brought in as an opponent for Joshua having mixed with some notable opposition - including Deontay Wilder - but the American did little but try to survive in a messy fight.

Joshua eventually outmuscled Gavern, whose measurements in terms of height and reach are very similar to Ruiz, although there was never any ambition to land a telling blow in their meeting in Newcastle on April 4, 2015.

The only comparison that can be made here is in physique, with Ruiz several levels above the Argentine journeyman in every department.

Avila had previously gone nine rounds with Dereck Chisora, but he did not want anything to do with Joshua who wiped him out in 134 seconds in his fifth professional fight back in March 2014.

Sports Mole has partnered with JD Sports to offer in-depth coverage of Anthony Joshua's US debut against Andy Ruiz Jr.