Andy Ruiz Jr is back at last, with the former unified world heavyweight champion finally confirming his next fight after an absence of almost two years.
The 34-year-old Californian (35-2 with 22 wins inside distance) has fought just three times since shocking the world in 2019 by claiming the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweights in a massive upset against Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden.
Ruiz Jr was horribly out of shape for the rematch in December of that year in Saudi Arabia, and subsequently dropped a unanimous decision as AJ regained his belts in the desert.
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Since then Ruiz has been on the edges of the heavyweight conversation, with just two fights. First he outpointed durable veteran Chris Arreola in May 2021, recovering to claim a comfortable victory after being down in Round 2.
Then in September 2022 Ruiz emerged with a close but unanimous decision over the dangerous Luis Ortiz – ultimately prevailing thanks to a pair of knockdowns in the second round, and another in Round 7.
At his peak Ruiz Jr, with his fast hands and surprising power, has featured in the top five of our own heavyweight rankings, but recently lost his position in the top 10 due to inactivity.
Irony as ‘Big Baby’ up next
There is delicious irony in the next opponent for Ruiz Jr, as he will meet Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on August 3. The pair will lock horns on the undercard of that Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov showdown.
Remember Ruiz only got the opportunity to challenge for Joshua’s world heavyweight titles back in 2019 thanks to Miller – who was ruled out after failing multiple drug tests. Ruiz stepped in at short notice as a massive underdog, and the rest is now history.
Miller (now 26-1-1 with 22 KOs) finally returned to action in 2022 with a pair of wins against lesser opposition and then another in 2023 before he lost his unbeaten record in his last outing – a defeat by Britain’s Daniel Dubois on that massive ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia in December.
