Los Angeles – In a high-stakes heavyweight bout, former unified world champion Andy Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) needed three knockdowns to win a twelve-round unanimous decision over Luis Ortiz (33-3, 28 KOs) . (photos by Ryan Hafey)
The scores were 113-112, 114-111, 114-111.
Ortiz came out pumping a calculated jab on the first Ruiz that was starting to get going, before Ortiz cut him off with a big combination that pushed him back. To start the second, Ruiz landed a big hook to push Ortiz back. As they traded blows, Ruiz dropped Ortiz with a solid right counterattack. Ortiz was really in shock when he beat the count. A second takedown call was issued as Ortiz went down again, but it appeared to be more of a slip. When Ruiz chased after him, Ortiz was able to catch him with some big shots to weather the storm.
Ortiz was working the jab and targeting the body in the third. Ruiz didn’t land much, but connected with a body shot to the belly that seemed to hurt Ortiz. Both were very cautious in the fourth, mainly with the jab coming from Ortiz, who continued to go for the body.
In the fifth, Ortiz hung on to his jab and loosened his hands a bit more. Both of them were still quite cautious. Ortiz was hitting, pressing and starting to loosen his hands in the sixth. Ruiz was looking to counterattack and at times connected, but Ortiz landed well. The seventh saw Ortiz mostly attached to his boxing. They were both landing up close, but Ortiz was pumping the jab for most of the round. Ruiz then dropped his hands in the closing moments to drop Ortiz for a third time.
The eight began with a jab from Ortiz. Ortiz’s left eye was very swollen at this point. They were exchanging blows with both connected closely. Ruiz came out firing in the ninth and had Ortiz backing off. Ortiz started to come back with some in the closing moments. In the tenth, Ortiz was really boxing well and had Ruiz at the end of his jab.
During the eleventh, Ruiz was loosening his hands a little more on the exit. He rocked Ortiz, it was a good hook and he chased him down with a few more shots. Ortiz was trying to get his jab going, but Ruiz continued to land it with quick bursts. Ruiz’s left eye was nearly swollen shut. In the twelfth and final round, Ortiz came out pressing and landed heavy shots on Ruiz, who was throwing counterattacks. Ortiz looked like he was going for a knockout, but Ruiz took a very good shot and responded with shots of his own.
