Andy Ruiz Jr’s explanation for weighing 283 lbs

By Boxing News - 12/07/2019 - Comments

By Jim Dower: Andy Ruiz’s explanation for him weighing in at a hefty 283 pounds during Friday’s weigh-in for his second match against the popular British heavyweight Anthony Joshua is he had just eaten a meal and was wearing clothes, according to @TheAthleticBOX.

IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs) had predicted this week that he would weigh in at the same weight [268 lbs] that he’d weighed for his first bout against Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) on June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York. However, it was a surprise to many when Ruiz weighed 15 lbs heavier than that at 283 lbs last Friday.

“I already had ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I had on a sombrero and all my clothes. I probably put on like 10lbs just eating and drinking. I would’ve been at like 268lbs without all that stuff,” said Ruiz to @TheAthleticBOX.

How does Andy Ruiz gain 15 lbs from eating one meal?

Ruiz’s explanation for his 15-lb weight gain from his first fight to his second one doesn’t make sense. No one gains 15 lbs from eating one single meal, no matter what they eat.

There are two theories for why Ruiz weighed in at 283 lbs:

  1. Ruiz couldn’t control his eating:  Perhaps the real explanation for Ruiz’s weight gain is he gained too much weight living it up after beating Joshua last summer, and he couldn’t burn all the fat off that he’d put on. You must remember that when the rematch was first made, Ruiz looked incredibly fat. His weight looked well over 300 lbs at that time. He said he didn’t want to weaken himself during training camp by trimming down, and that meant he wasn’t going to reduce his calories. Ruiz says his clothes contributed to him weighing more, since he chose to weigh-in with his jogging pants and a tank top on. However, those were light items that likely weighed no more than 3 lbs at the most. They couldn’t add to his weight significantly to put him 15 lbs over his previous weight.
  2. Andy trying to trick Joshua: Another theory is that Ruiz was trying to fool Joshua by making him think that he’s heavier so that he’ll be overconfident during the fight, and expecting him to be slow. For Ruiz to trick Joshua, he would need to have hidden weighs on his body somewhere during the weigh-in. It’s unclear where Ruiz’s extra weights could have been hidden. Some boxing fans believe Ruiz hid the weights under his sombrero, and in his pockets of his trousers. 15 lbs is A LOT of weight to try and hide though.

Hearn unsure of Joshua vs. Ruiz 2 outcome

In any sport if you know the result ahead of time, it’s not so compelling,” said Hearn to IFL TV. “Does Joshua change a little of his strategy? Does he keep it long? Ruiz is a great fighter. He may not look like the athlete Anthony Joshua is, but he’s got a good pedigree amateur career, and he’s got fast hands, and he takes a shot.

“He ticks a lot of boxes. In rematches, they’re never the same as the first one, and that’s the gamble,” said Hearn. “I would have liked to have had Anthony [wait] 18 months before he fought Ruiz, because you have to re-educate your brain. ‘I  messed up last time, and it didn’t work out.’ The brain has to believe what the mouth is saying. Six months is a very short distance to try and re-educate yourself , and to change your strategy.

I can’t make up my mind if he’s going to come up and stop him straightaway early or whether he’ll struggle in the middle to late rounds where Ruiz’s hand speed is going to give him more of a problem, but isn’t that why people watch boxing to start with? I don’t think he’ll retire, ” said Hearn.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Barry Hearn isn’t able to make up his mind how tonight’s Joshua-Ruiz 2 rematch will play out. On one hand, Hearn thinks the slimmer 237 lb Joshua could jump on Ruiz straightaway and top him, but on the other hand, he worries that Andy could take him in the later rounds.

The way the first fight played out, Joshua was fighting on fumes after 3 rounds, and Ruiz capitalized on that by knocking him down 4 times. Ruiz finished off Joshua in round 7, but he probably could have done it earlier.

Joshua’s popularity will still be there if he loses rematch

“He’s a terrific athlete. A plan B would be to have a nice little break, and regroup,” said Hearn about Joshua. “Come back in a year’s time when you’re still a young man. Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder fights are still out there. Joshua win or lose is still the biggest name commercially. This fight Saturday night is the biggest commercial heavyweight fight of all time.

“Nothing has got remotely close in the heavyweights. Lennox Lewis, Tyson, nothing has gotten this close, because Joshua’s reputation and persona, his ability, his reputation, it counts to bring in the Saudis. I don’t think any other heavyweight would have attracted this type of attention. So that doesn’t go away with another loss. It’s dented, severely dented, but it doesn’t go away.

“It just comes down to what Joshua wants to do with his life, win or lose. There’s an argument to be made that being famous is more important than being good when it comes down to making money. Joshua has done a tremendous job on his marquee value, and Eddie has done a tremendous job of looking after him,” said Hearn.

Joshua has built up such a huge fan base worldwide, it’s inconceivable to imagine him losing popularity after a second loss to Ruiz. Obviously, Joshua will lose some boxing fans, but he’ll gain more from being seen by so many casuals. For a lot of fans, this will be the first time they see Joshua, and if he can make it exciting, those fans will stay on board even if he loses.

Hearn’s comment about being ‘famous’ being more important than ‘being good’ makes a lot of sense when considering how a second loss would impact Joshua’s career.

YouTube video