By Dan Ambrose: Top Rank heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr. (29-0, 19 Kos) has a chance of picking up the vacant WBO heavyweight title this Saturday night against Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) in their fight at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Parker is the favorite to win on Bovada by the line -400 to +300 for Ruiz Jr.
That doesn’t mean that Ruiz Jr. will necessarily lose the fight on Saturday. He’s got a real chance of winning the fight. Parker, 24, is a good heavyweight, but he’s still green and doesn’t have a lot of big fights under his belt that proven that he’s worthy of his No.1 ranking with the World Boxing Organization. HBO Championship Boxing will be televising the Parker vs. Ruiz Jr. fight on Saturday night.
Ruiz Jr. and Parker appear to be pretty evenly matched in the power department. Both guys can punch when they load up on their shots. Ruiz Jr. is more willing to throw power shots than Parker, though. Parker uses a lot of movement nowadays to win his fights. The heavyset Ruiz Jr. doesn’t have the same options of getting on his bike and moving around the ring like Parker. Ruiz Jr. doesn’t have the body to be mobile for 12 rounds. He’s got to attack his opponents and try and get them out of there with his power.
The Ruiz Jr. vs. Parker fight comes down to these areas:
– Power – The power department appears to be a pretty even area for Ruiz Jr. and Parker. I know that Parker can punch well, but he’s not as fast as Ruiz Jr. in the hands speed department. Arum said recently that Parker has the fastest hands since Muhammad Ali. But Ali was never that fast compared to guys like Mike Tyson, who had very fast hand speed during his prime years of his boxing career. The power is pretty even between Ruiz Jr. and Parker.
– Speed – There’s hand speed and foot speed. Ruiz Jr. has the faster hands, as I pointed out already, but Parker moves faster on his feet. Parker will need to be able to stand and fight Ruiz Jr. on Saturday night, because he’s not going to win this fight by moving around for 12 rounds like he did against Carlos Takam. Ruiz Jr. will be waiting for Parker when he does stop moving so that he can nail him with shots. For that reason, Parker’s foot speed might not help him much in this fight. He’s going to need to be able to stand and fight Ruiz Jr. if he wants to win the fight and pick up the vacant WBO heavyweight title.
– Experience – The experience department is pretty even. Parker has fought Alexander Dimitrenko, Kali Meehand, Solomon Haumono and Carlos Takam. Those are not super great fighters. Ruiz’s toughest opponents have been Franklin Lawrence, Manuel Quezada, Joe Hanks, Tor Hamer and Siarhei Liakhovich. Some of those guys were good fighter during the prime of their careers, but they had fallen off badly by the time they met up with Ruiz Jr. The experience between Ruiz Jr. and Parker is pretty even.
– Ring IQ – This is another area that is hard to pick a winner. Parker seems to be a pretty smart fighter, but he hasn’t shown the ability to adapt within a round. He’s mostly going by the directions given to him by trainer Kevin Barry. Ruiz Jr. seems to be a smart fighter that can change battle plans during a round on his own without his trainer having to tell him.
– Mobility – Parker is the far more mobile fighter compared to Ruiz Jr.
– Punch resistance – Ruiz Jr. has never been hurt in any of his fights. Parker has been hurt, and he’d been hurt, and he’s only faced one good fighter during his career in Carlos Takam.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would like to see Ruiz Jr. win this fight and become the first Mexican to capture a heavyweight world title. It would be a big deal for Arum, because he could try and turn Ruiz Jr. into a star in the U.S just like Golden Boy Promotions has done with Saul Canelo Alvarez. The difference is that Ruiz Jr. won’t have a big weight and talent advantage over Parker in the same way that Canelo has had in many of his fights in the U.S. If Ruiz Jr. is going to win the fight against Parker on Saturday, he’s going to have to tough it out and win on heart rather than just size or careful match-making.
If the rounds are close on Saturday, then Parker will likely win all of those, because he’ll be considered the home fighter and Ruiz Jr. the visiting fighter, even though he no longer lives in New Zealand. The boxing fan will still recognize him as their fighter. For that reason, Ruiz Jr. will need to make sure that he wins the rounds decisively if he wants to get the victory. The crowd will be shouting support for Parker, and acknowledging whatever punches he lands in the fight. The judges will probably respond to the crowd noise unconsciously and give Parker rounds that he might not otherwise win.