By Aragon Garcia: A fight between IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. is expected to be announced shortly for June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Ruiz Jr. (32-2, 21 KOs) has been picked out by Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn to step in and replace Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller after he tested positive for banned drugs on several tests by VADA.
Ruiz Jr. is in good shape, and is coming off of a fifth round knockout win over Alexander Dimitrenko on April 20th. Ruiz Jr. weighed 262 pounds for that fight. Ruiz Jr. says his goal is to drop some more weight to get down to 245 lbs, a weight that he says he hasn’t been since 2016. Ruiz Jr. feels that he’s unbeatable when he’s at 245. Ruiz Jr. was 246 lbs for his fight against Matthew Greer in 2013. Ruiz Jr. knocked him out in the first round.
The Joshua vs. Ruiz Jr. fight still hasn’t been officially announced, it’s expected to be any day now. The negotiations are slow because Matchroom is working with Ruiz’s management with Premier Boxing Champions. They’re going to do a good job of putting together a good deal for him.
“I want to fight now. I just got done fighting,” Ruiz Jr. said to PBC on Fox. “So another month of preparing myself, I think I’ll be more sharp and more fit and I’ll be ready for that fight. I actually weighed at 262 pounds [for the Alexander Dimitrenko fight]. My goal is to be at 245 pounds, gain more muscle, improve the speed. The last time I was at 240 was the last time I was down at the StubHub three years ago. From the layoff that I had, now that I’m signed with PBC, thanks to Al Haymon, that’s my goal, to be at 245. If I’m at 245, I don’t think there’s anybody out there that can beat me, and match that speed. I just got done fighting on April 20th. I’m fresh, and I’m ready. I’m ready to rock and roll. I’m excited. They’re [Matchroom Boxing USA] talking to my team right now,” Ruiz said.
What some boxing fans might say about Ruiz’s comment about him being unbeatable at 245 lbs is why wasn’t he at that weight all along if he’s at his best when he’s at that range? Ruiz Jr. was at 255 lbs for his controversial loss to Joseph Parker in 2016 in New Zealand. It looked like Ruiz Jr won handily by at least four rounds, but he was fighting in Parker’s home country. Ruiz has fought only three times since then, and his weight has fluctuated from a low of 252 lbs to a high of 262 lbs for his last fight against Alexander Dimitrenko.
This is great news that Joshua is getting such an excellent opponent in 29-year-old Ruiz Jr. as his replacement. Ruiz Jr. took care of Dimitrenko this month in hurting him with right hands in the fifth round. Dimitrenko made it to the end of the round, and quit on his stool.