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By Sean Jones: Andy Ruiz Jr. is coming off a loss to Anthony Joshua last December, and NOW he wants a world shot straightaway against WBC champion Tyson Fury. Since that’s not a realistic option, the former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) has plans on getting back into the ring for a tune-up in August.

In this upside-down world, it wouldn’t be surprising if Fury ignores Anthony Joshua and picks Ruiz Jr for later this year if he gets passed Deontay Wilder. If Fury wants to purposely anger the British boxing fans, he could do that picking Ruiz instead of meeting Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight championship in November or December, assuming that he beats Wilder this summer.

Andy Ruiz Jr. ready to fight Fury if picked

“I just want a shot with Tyson Fury,” Ruiz said to PBC on Fox. “If they pick me, I’m here and I’m ready.”

Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) won the WBC title last Saturday night in beating champion Deontay Wilder by a TKO in the 7th round in an amazing upset in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ruiz had picked Wilder to win that fight going into it, and he was just as much surprised as the fans worldwide.

If Fury picks Ruiz as an opponent for later this year, he would be inviting an avalanche of criticism from boxing fans, who wouldn’t approve of that move. As of now, Fury has little choice in who he faces next.

Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) has revealed that he will be triggering the rematch clause he has in his contract from his fight last Saturday against him. Those two will be fighting in one of the following months: July, September, October or November. Those are the 4 months that have been mentioned for the Fury vs. Wilder 3 trilogy.

With Wilder’s embarrassing defeat, he shares something in common now with Ruiz, who looked equally bad in his defeat to Joshua. No, I take that back. Ruiz gave a much better effort in losing to Joshua while grossly out of shape at 283 lbs compared to Wilder defeat. Wilder looked like a rank amateur in getting dropped twice and battered by Fury.

Ruiz Jr. will have a tune-up in August, and if Fury still hasn’t picked him, then he could fight Luis Ortiz in late 2020. That would be a 50-50 fight in which Ruiz’s career would be in the balance. If Ruiz wins, he keeps his career going, and stays in position to get picked by one of the top guys like Fury or Joshua.

Fury impressed Ruiz Jr. with win over Wilder

“I think Tyson Fury did an awesome job. He did everything that he had and his ability, his long reach and all that and he’s the man right now,” Ruiz said. “I had flashbacks to my fight [with Joshua] on June 1.

“It was kind of similar. It was in the same round as well so it was pretty crazy but good for Tyson Fury. I think Fury did what he had to do, and he stuck to the game-plan. I’m pretty sure he could do it again and I could do it too,” said Ruiz.

Fury probably will beat Wilder again, but I don’t see how that helps Ruiz Jr. land a fight against ‘The Gypsy King’ in 2020. There’s too much money on the line and way too much interest from boxing fans in a Fury vs. Joshua fight. Fury would be getting chump change in taking a fight against Ruiz, who still needs to rebuild his image from his loss to Joshua on December 7.