Fox Deportes’ Héctor Cantú brought us the latest on former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. yesterday. “The Destroyer,” who acknowledges that he was “a little rusty” against Chris Arreola this past May, is reportedly in talks with both Luis Ortiz and Dillian Whyte for a potential fight in September.
Cantú stresses that nothing’s finalized yet, and it’s probably best not to get your hopes up. Ruiz (34-2, 22 KO) and Ortiz (32-2, 27 KO) were linked to a potential fight last year, but Ortiz ended up smashing the hapless Alexander Flores instead while Ruiz waited until this year to beat a tougher-than-expected Chris Arreola. Whyte (28-2, 19 KO) has been talking up a potential return to the States, but his target is reportedly Jermaine Franklin.
Plus, considering the WBC’s ceaseless quest to screw “The Body Snatcher” over at every turn, Whyte may not want to take a real risk. Which, you know, fair play.
I’ll be crossing my fingers for Ruiz vs. Ortiz; the heavyweight division needs a compelling matchup right now after the stream of garbage it’s oozed out these past couple months.