Andy Ruiz Jr’s weight has been known to fluctuate and usually in the wrong direction, but it appears the Mexican has turned a corner.
When Ruiz Jr replaced Jarrell Miller as the chosen opponent for Anthony Joshua’s in 2019, nobody gave him a chance largely due to his chubby physique.
To everyone’s shock, Ruiz Jr dominated his British counterpart, who was making his debut on American soil, knocking Joshua down four times on his way to a seventh round stoppage win.
This prompted Tyson Fury, the current WBC heavyweight world champion, to claim that Ruiz Jr had essentially disproven sports science.
“[Joshua’s] broken every heart monitor in sight, he’s done every cross-fit machine, he’s done everything correct, had the best nutrition and diet you can get, but the little fat fellow bowls him over in seven rounds.
“How can the scientists look at me and say this is how you do it? They can’t, this is one-on-one combat and anything can happen.”
For the rematch, Ruiz Jr packed on an extra 15-pounds and this time it was a step too far, as the extra weight stopped the Mexican from being able to pin Joshua down and the Brit boxed his way to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
After the fight, Ruiz Jr was widely criticised for his lack of motivation and disciplinary issues that led to him losing his heavyweight world titles, almost as quickly as he had won them.
Since then, Ruiz Jr has only had one contest against an ageing Chris Arreola.
He managed to knock the former heavyweight world champion down in the second round, but he recovered to win by unanimous decision.
However, it appears like Ruiz Jr is now ready to revive his career, as new video shows the Mexican in excellent shape while working out with Alfredo Osuna.
This is timely since Luis Ortiz, who previously fought Deontay Wilder twice, will be a tough challenge for Ruiz Jr., and a victory for the Mexican fighter might put him back in the running for the world championship.
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