By Jim Dower: Unbeaten Andy Ruiz Jr. (29-0, 19 KOs) weighed in at 255.7 pounds on Thursday for his fight against #1 WBO Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) in a battle of puncher vs. boxer this Saturday night at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Parker weighed in at 246.7lbs. The two heavyweights will be fighting for the vacant WBO heavyweight title that was recently vacated by Tyson Fury.
Ruiz Jr’s nine pound weight advantage might not be enough for him to get a win on Saturday night, because he’s going to have a hard time cornering Parker, who likes to use movement to keep out of punching range.
Ruiz Jr. and Parker reportedly sparred in the past with Parker reportedly suffering a cut lip. It sounds like Parker had some problems with Ruiz Jr. However, that was sparring. Parker has improved a lot as a fighter in the last couple of years, and he’s not the same fighter he was in the past.
Whatever happened during their sparring session is meaningless now.
The 6’2” Ruiz Jr. looked considerably shorter than the 6’4” Parker. Ruiz Jr. is also giving up two inches in reach, which may be more of a problem for him than the height. If Ruiz Jr. can’t get to the 24-year-old Parker to land his big power shots, then this could be a one-sided contest. Up until now, Ruiz Jr. has dominated all 29 of his opponents in his seven-year pro career.
The only guy that gave Ruiz Jr. any problems was former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Siarhei Liahovich in 2014. Ruiz Jr. won the fight by a 10 round unanimous decision, but he struggled with the work rate and the punching power of Liakhovich. That was the last time that Liakhovich fought, which is surprising because he looked very good in that fight. What was surprising was how Ruiz Jr. was not able to beat Liahovich with ease the way that Deontay Wilder, Bryant Jennings and Robert Helenius all were. Maybe it was just an off night for Ruiz Jr. Whatever the case, it’s not a good sign that Ruiz Jr. couldn’t destroy Liahovich in the same way that Wilder did.
The winner of the Parker vs. Ruiz Jr. fight will be crowned the new WBO heavyweight champion. That will put them in a position for an eventual big money unification fight against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight in 2017. It would be in the best interest for the Parker-Ruiz Jr. winner to take it easy until they fight the winner of the Joshua-Klitschko fight.
Other weights on the card:
Undefeated #2 IBF, #2 WBO, #13 WBA, #13 WBC Jeff Horn (15-0-1, 10 KOs) weighed in at 146.6lbs for his fight against Ali Funeka (39-5-3, 31 KOs). Funeka weighed in at 146.4lbs. Horn is now co-promoted by Top Rank. Horn could get a title shot against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in the second half of 2017 if they both keep winning their fights until then. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed interest this week in possibly making a fight between Horn and Pacquiao next year.
Other weights on the card:
Isaac Dogboe 121.8 vs. Julian Aristile 121.8
Junior Fa 270.1 vs. Pablo Magrini 210
Josh Parker 189.6 vs. Ash McConville 203.4
Shannon O’Connell 121.4 vs. Laura Griffa 121.4
Brown Buttabean 281 vs. Che Barlow 231.5
