Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz
Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz is hoping to secure a major fight before the end of the year.
In 2019, Ruiz shocked the world when he dropped Anthony Joshua four times to secure a stoppage win to capture the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles.
But six months later, Joshua reclaimed his belts when he outboxed Ruiz over twelve rounds for a lopsided decision win. Ruiz entered that contest overweight and underprepared after admittedly not training to the best of his ability for the second fight.
Ruiz finally returned to the ring in May of 2021, and was forced to get off the floor to win a twelve round unanimous decision over veteran Chris Arreola.
The Mexican boxer is now lined up for what some view as a more dangerous assignment when he faces Cuban banger Luis Ortiz on September 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Ortiz has two defeats on his record – with both of them coming at the hands of former world champion Deontay Wilder.
A fight with Wilder is exactly what Ruiz wants to get in the immediate future.
Wilder has been out of the ring since last October, when he suffered a knockout loss in his trilogy fight with Tyson Fury. In several recent interviews, Wilder has stated that he intends to continue fighting – but the timeframe for his return is unknown.
“The heavyweight division is so open right now,” Ruiz said. “I just got to get this win first against Luis Ortiz. Like I said, it’s a hard opponent, but, of course, I would love to fight Wilder if he comes out of retirement.
“I don’t know if he said he’s going to come out of retirement, but I would love to fight him. We’re both under PBC and Al Haymon, and that fight would be easy to make.”