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The only thing Andy Ruiz would love more than a matchup with Deontay Wilder is a fight of any kind within the next three or four months. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
The former unified heavyweight champion ended a sixteen month absence from the ring with a twelve round unanimous decision win over former title challenger Luis Ortiz. Ruiz scored three knockdowns, proving to be the difference on the scorecards as he won by scores of 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 in his September 4 Fox Sports Pay-Per-View headliner on Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Getting the win was the most important part, although it came with a lot of room for improvement.
“I would give it a B,” Ruiz told BoxingScene.com and other reporters of his performance. “I was coming off a year off. He was fighting a strong veteran who hits hard. He is a southpaw, the first southpaw I have faced. He was actually saying that he was going to take me down. He didn’t do that once. I just thank God I was able to quit. I didn’t get the (knockout) but thank God I got the win.
“It’s back to the gym for me. I felt rusty after not fighting for a while. I plan to be more active in the future, whether it’s Wilder or anyone else who crosses my path.”
The fight was only the second for Ruiz (35-2, 22KOs) since his pair of title fights with England’s Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22KOs) before the pandemic.
Ruiz made history by becoming the first fighter of Mexican descent to win a share of the heavyweight crown after knocking out Joshua in the seventh round in their June 2019 clash. The reign was short-lived, as the Imperial native , California returned the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO titles to Joshua after a disproportionate loss of points in their December 2019 rematch.
There was talk at the time of Ruiz and Ortiz colliding in the first half of 2020, only for those plans to be canceled due to the global health crisis. Ruiz ended up sitting out all of 2020 and well into 2021 before meeting and beating Chris Arreola on May 1 in Carson, California. A knee injury that required surgery would keep Ruiz out of the ring for the rest of the year, while outside factors delayed the completion of a fight date with Ortiz.
Sunday’s win leaves Ruiz as the number two contender for the WBC heavyweight title, with Wilder (42-2-1, 41KOs) ahead of him in the standings. The long-reigning former WBC champion will end a long layoff of his own when he takes on Robert Helenius atop a Fox Sports pay-per-view on October 15 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A win could potentially set up a clash of former heavyweight champions in 2023, though Ruiz would love a fight of any kind in the interim.
“I want to go straight to the gym again,” Ruiz said. “I didn’t feel like I was 100 percent but we got the win. I just want to keep busy.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
