CARSON, Calif. — Sixteen months and 50-plus pounds lighter, Andy Ruiz Jr., finally made his return to the ring, his first action since that disappointing night in Saudi Arabia when he showed up grossly out of shape for a rematch with Anthony Joshua.
To be clear, Ruiz still isn’t in shape at a flabby 256 pounds. But when he lost the unified heavyweight championship to Joshua, he weighed 283.5 pounds after barely training. The realization that he blew a monumental opportunity led to a downward spiral and depression.
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He emerged from that chapter of his life with a new trainer in Eddy Reynoso and another chance to prove he’s one of the elite fighters in boxing’s glamour division. That journey began Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over fellow Mexican-American Chris Arreola, a man who knows all too well about troubles with weight.
And just like when Ruiz scored that historic upset over Anthony Joshua to win the heavyweight title, he was forced to pull himself off the canvas.
Arreola, a 20-1 underdog, shocked Ruiz with a chopping right in Round 2 that dropped him to a knee. When Ruiz was knocked down by Joshua in their first meeting, Andy responded by furiously trading rather than holding and scored a knockdown of his own moments that later changed his life.
Ruiz once again elected to exchange after the knockdown from Arreola, and the following round, he was wobbled, too. But Ruiz settled down, showed improved composure and an educated jab to outbox Arreola down the stretch of a surprisingly competitive action fight.
The star fighter wants to establish that the upset win over Joshua wasn’t a fluke, but Saturday’s performance didn’t accomplish that. The victory was a nice first step, though, and if Ruiz can stay active (and really get into shape), he has a chance to show the doubters that he’s indeed one of the best heavyweights in the world.
To truly cement that status, he’ll have to be matched up with someone better than Arreola, and that fight could come next.
Luis Ortiz could be next in line for Ruiz
‘King Kong’ Ortiz is another heavyweight contender looking to capture his former status, and he was ringside to get a closer look at Ruiz, the Cuban told The Athletic.
Ortiz twice fought Deontay Wilder for the heavyweight title, and both times Ortiz won virtually every round before he was brutally knocked out. Now 42 and one of the most avoided fighters in the sport, Ortiz is hoping to land a fight with Ruiz later this year.
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“I think that he wants the fight,” Ortiz said. “I’m here for fighting. I like this fight with Andy Ruiz. I’m ready. We need to talk to Al Haymon and (Luis DeCubas) Junior. I want to fight him so the world can see (how good I am). I want to knock all of them out.”
A Ruiz-Ortiz matchup should be easy enough to make since both fighters are with Al Haymon and DeCubas. It’s also a guaranteed action fight that should catapult the winner to another crack at the championship.
“They’re terrified to fight me,” Ortiz said of his fellow heavyweights. “They want the easy money. … Stop being scared, the world knows you’re scared. You’re going to have to fight me eventually.”
Ruiz-Ortiz? Sign me up.
Arreola lives on as a viable opponent
The brawling, swearing big man from Southern California vowed to retire if he lost to Adam Kownacki in 2019. Arreola dropped the decision but didn’t call it quits after giving Kownacki all he could handle.
Arreola even broke the CompuBox record for punches thrown in a heavyweight fight with 1,125 shots. The Nightmare came up short again Saturday, but another impressive performance in defeat certainly extended Arreola’s career as a player in the heavyweight division.
He was naturally upset that he lost, but he was far more annoyed with the judges’ scorecards. Two judges gave Arreola only one round, the second frame in which he dropped Ruiz. The third judge gave Arreola one other round. I gave Arreola three rounds.
“Did he beat me? Yeah, maybe. I give him seven rounds at most … These fucking judges, I get no respect from them, no fucking respect. I honestly believe judges should wear noise-canceling headphones so they don’t get swayed by the crowd. These judges need to be held accountable.”
With his outsized personality and name recognition on the back of another strong outing, Arreola is sure to land another meaningful fight. Who wouldn’t want to see him in a slugfest with Dillian Whyte, Dereck Chisora or even Ortiz?
Ruiz a work in progress with Reynoso
It always takes time to implement new tactics when a fighter switches trainers, and it was clear after Saturday that Ruiz and Reynoso will need at least one more training camp for the adjustments to stick.
Oscar Valdez, who won a 130-pound title with a career-best victory over Miguel Berchelt in March, didn’t see it all come together until his third fight with Reynoso.
The reigning trainer of the year, best known for his work with Canelo Alvarez, predicted it would take six more months and at least one more fight until Ruiz is ready to challenge for the heavyweight title again.
“I think the ring rust really showed but I didn’t fight no bum, this guy is a veteran … and he was really prepared for this fight. But I did underestimate him,” Ruiz acknowledged. “I thought we gave the fans what they wanted to see. But the main thing is to get back in the gym and stay disciplined.”
(Top photo: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)