Ruiz Jr. vs. Ortiz Preview
A big-time heavyweight battle is going down in Los Angeles on Sunday September 4th. Former champion Andy Ruiz Jr will fight former title challenger Luis Ortiz in a 12-round fight.
Ruiz is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Chris Arreloa last May. The win was a big rebound from his title loss to Anthony Joshua in 2019, this after he picked up one of the biggest upsets in boxing when he TKO’d Joshua six months prior.
The 32-year-old won his last fight but he was not happy with his performance after being dropped in the second round. “If this ends in a knockout, it ends in a knockout,” Ruiz said. “My only goal is to be victorious. I’m in shape to go 12 hard rounds. We’re going to go in there and leave it all in the ring,” said Ruiz.
“I’m in shape to go 12 hard rounds.”
Ruiz’ new trainer Alfredo Osuna is excited to see him perform on Sunday. “Andy is in optimal shape,” Osuna said. “He couldn’t be doing any better. The best part of this training camp is that he’s been happy, disciplined and as dedicated as he’s ever been.”
Ruiz is known as one of the best pure boxers in the heavyweight division and much of the criticism has been about his weight. He weighed over 280 pounds when he lost the titles to Joshua and it was clear he was out of shape. The California native does not care about the criticisms of his weight. “I'm not here to lose so much weight. I'm trying to be fit and gain a little bit of muscle and not be too skinny. It's not a body contest. The main thing is to stay focused, stay prepared, and stay ready,” Ruiz said.
Ortiz has won two straight fights since losing to Deontay Wilder in a rematch for the WBC title in 2019. He most recently defeated former champion Charles Martin in January by sixth round TKO. The Cuban fighter believes the winner of this fight will be fighting for a title.
“This is important for me and for Andy too because the one that wins this fight will be the one that gets the chance to fight for a world title,” Ortiz continued. “It doesn’t get any bigger than that,” said Ortiz when asked if this fight would open doors for him.
“You never know what’s going to happen in a fight until it’s over. I let you guys draw your own conclusions. Like I said before, inside the ring, anything can happen,” said Ortiz.
The 43-year-old is ready for a war with Ruiz. “I do think this could be a fight of the year, but does it turn into a brawl, we’ll have to wait and see,” Ortiz said. “I’m not going to shy away from any of that. Andy’s game plan has been set now for a few weeks. He says that he’s going to fight ‘smart.’ I don’t know what that means for an Andy Ruiz. It has the makings of a brawl.
“I’m going to do what I do best and that’s seek-and-destroy. That can come in many ways,” Ruiz said.
Aside from Martin, Ortiz has key victories in his career over Christian Hammer, Tony Thompson and Bryant Jennings.
The fight can be seen on FOX PPV.
