The Mexican heavyweight star Andy Ruiz Jr is finally locking horns with former two-time world challenger Luis Ortiz on September 4 at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, California after months of uncertainty. Prior to this, Ruiz Jr was in the news for taking shots with other names. However, finally, the name of Deontay Wilder’s rival stood tall.
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ESPN reported this on the weekend. As Ruiz Jr. has been on a long layoff from the ring, it is going to be his first bout in the last 15 months.
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The 32-year-old is struggling with his team. The champ was earlier refueling himself with Canelo Alvarez’s coach Eddy Reynoso. However, after a few months, he parted from Reynoso and joined another trainer, Alfredo Osuna.
The last Ruiz fought was against Chris Arreola. Although he secured a decision to win over Arreola, it was not a very promising one.
As his opponent put forth a tough front, he even dropped Ruiz on the initial rounds.
What happened to Andy Ruiz Jr after becoming a world champion?
‘Destroyer’ came in limelight in 2019 and became an overnight star. It happened because, as a replacement, Ruiz Jr. got an opportunity to face the former world champion, Anthony Joshua. However, before the fight, Ruiz Jr. was a heavy underdog.
But Ruiz Jr stunned the boxing world and pulled out the biggest upset of the year. He knocked out fans’ favorite Joshua several times and finally stopped him in the seventh round and became the unified WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion. It sent the spark that Ruiz Jr got something heavyweight champions fear about.
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Nonetheless, the stardom remained short-lived as Joshua destroyed Ruiz in the rematch a few months later. After the loss, Ruiz Jr faced backlash, as he admitted the fact that he was overconfident during the days of training.
Since then Ruiz is training hard to gain his rhythm back.
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What do you think of Ruiz Jr’s next opponent? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Essentially Sports
