By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr wants to fight Deontay Wilder next May on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend following his win against Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz last Sunday night in their elimination fight for the WBC heavyweight title at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.
Although Wilder said a fight against Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) is a possibility, he still has a tough fight ahead of him against Robert Helenius on Oct. 15.
Also, Wilder is a potential option for Oleksandr Usyk if he can’t set up a fight with Tyson Fury. Additionally, Anthony Joshua is also interested in fighting ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder.
Any of those fights will make Deontay a lot more money than fighting Ruiz right now, particularly after his unimpressive win over the 43-year-old Ortiz (33-3, 28 KOs).
Ruiz defeated Ortiz by the scores 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112. Ortiz outboxed Ruiz throughout the fight.
“Deontay Wilder, hopefully you win. We can get it. That’s what people want. We are going to do it,” Andy Ruiz Jr told Fighthype following his victory over Luis Ortiz last Sunday night.
“Wilder will be easy because he has the right hand,” Andy Ruiz Sr told Fighthype of his belief that Deontay will be an easier foe than Luis Ortiz.
“Wilder has the right hand. He has no left. He’s right. He goes to find Wilder. you’re going to see Remember, I told you, he’s going to get King Kong.
“I told you he’s going to look for Anthony Joshua. He is going to knock out Wilder. He is not the same guy. The guy he’s going to fight in October is going to have a rough time with this guy. [Robert Helenius]. Maybe shock the world. The tall guys are different because they’re right here.
“Andy is tough because they have to knock down with their punches. We want Deontay in May on Cinco de Mayo.
“It was a training. We didn’t want to throw it all away,” Ruiz Sr. said of why Andy couldn’t knock out 43-year-old Luis Ortiz. “It was a tough fight. He was a lefty.
“We were telling Andy in the corner, ‘Calm down, be careful, move, make him miss so he’ll get mad and shoot well all night. That way you can get it,’” Ruiz Jr. said of what Andy Jr was told between rounds against Ortiz.