Posted on 03/21/2022
By: Hans Themistode
Andy Ruiz Jr. is up and roaring for a return to the ring. With a newfound hunger to regain his heavyweight world titles, the Mexican native ended his long stint on the sidelines recently, picking up a unanimous decision against Chris Arreola in May of 2021.
As the 32-year-old gears up for another run, Ruiz Jr. left his opponent selection to his undying fans.
“Who should I fight next?” Asked Ruiz Jr. on his social media account.
As the comments began flooding in, Derek Chisora chimed in with a suggestion of his own.
“Want to come to London?” Responded Chisora.
Although it appeared to be fun and games initially, promoter Eddie Hearn has become intrigued by the entire ordeal. In fact, not only does Hearn find a showdown between both heavyweight contenders a fascinating one, he recently revealed that he took things a step further.
“I want to make Chisora against Andy Ruiz,” said Hearn on Instagram live. “I made PBC an offer for that fight on Friday, they want more money, understood.”
If all goes well, a showdown between Ruiz Jr. and Chisora would pit two fighters currently heading in opposite directions. As mentioned previously, Ruiz Jr. is looking to build upon his one-sided win against Arreola. Chisora, on the other hand, has failed to record a victory since a fourth-round stoppage win over David Price in 2019.
But, despite coming up short over the past few years, Chisora has faced the cream of the heavyweight crop. In 2020, Chisora attempted to slow down the hype train of current heavyweight unified champion, Oleksandr Usyk. While he did his best to send Usyk home packing, the British native was handed a close unanimous decision defeat.
Following his bout against Usyk, Chisora fought back-to-back contests against former titlist, Joseph Parker. Ultimately, Parked saddled two more defeats to Chisora’s name.
In the end, while he hasn’t come up on the winning end too often as of late, Hearn reiterated that a matchup between Chisora and Ruiz Jr. is one that he desperately wants.
“I want to make Chisora against Andy Ruiz. I think it’s a great fight.”