By Brian Webber: Andy Ruiz Jr weighed in at 268 3/4 pounds at Saturday’s weigh-in for his WBC heavyweight eliminator fight against Luis Ortiz Sunday night on FOX Sports PPV at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. Ortiz, 43 (33-2, 28 KOs), weighed in at 245 1/2 pounds. Both fighters looked in excellent shape.
As such, the 32-year-old Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) will enjoy a 23-pound weight advantage and an 11-year youth advantage in the fight. For Ruiz, this is the second consecutive opponent he has faced at over 40 years old.
It appears that Ruiz’s management is purposely rebuilding his career by pitting him against older fighters to get an easy title defense that he might not otherwise get if he was pitted against younger fighters. Well, this is how boxing is handled in 2022.
In the co-feature, lightweight contender Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs) weighed in at 135 pounds for his 12-round fight against Eduardo Ramirez (27-2-3, 12 KOs). Ramirez weighed in at 134 1/2 pounds.
Cruz, 24, has been criticized for his disinterest in mingling with the talented Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (12-0, 8 KOs), who has repeatedly called him out and is fighting on Sunday night’s undercard.
‘Rayo’ Valenzuela weighed in at 134 1/2 pounds for his 10-round fight against Edwin De Los Santos (14-1, 13 KOs). Santos weighed in at 133 3/4 pounds.
“I want to stay well; I want to stay healthy. I think it was just the eating part,” Andy Ruiz Jr told Fight Hub TV after weigh-ins on Saturday.
“The [Ortiz] he looked good. He’s never been in a fight where he looked bad. He has always been fit, and especially him, he always looks good. We don’t know if he’s fit or out of shape, but you better believe he’ll bring it tomorrow.
“You have to take these moments because these moments are not going to last forever. I want to take advantage of these moments. I have nothing against Luis Ortiz. He is just another fighter trying to achieve his dreams, trying to feed his family and trying to make money.
“It’s a lot on my mind. That’s exactly what I wanted,” Ruiz said of wanting to be a two-time heavyweight champion. “Since then I have been going through all these roller coasters in my life. I want to be champion again and I want that WBC belt,” Ortiz said.
