By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Eddy Reynoso is keyed up to a future trilogy fight between his fighter Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua, and he believes Andy will knockout AJ with his help.
Former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) has still yet to fight since losing his rematch against Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision 14 months ago in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
Andy taking a risky tune-up in April
Ruiz’s new coach Reynoso says he’ll be fighting in April in a fight that is expected to be against Chris Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs). If Ruiz, 32, wins that fight and looks good, his next match-up could be against Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz.
The Arreola fight is a tune-up to get Ruiz ready to take on the two-time world title challenger Ortiz (38-2, 27 KOs).
It’s not a good idea for Reynoso to assume that Ruiz beats Ortiz, as this is a smart fighter with a lot of boxing skills going to him from days on the Cuban national team.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn last week that Ruiz will easily beat former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. That comment from Hearn seems to have given Reynoso some confidence, as he’s now talking about him knocking out Joshua if the two meet in the future for a trilogy.
Reynoso: Ruiz will knockout Joshua
“It looks like he’s going to return to the ring in April,” said trainer Eddy Reynoso to Little Giant Boxing about Andy Ruiz’s comeback fight. “He’s an excellent boxer, and he’s learned a lot.
“We’re going to make Andy Ruiz a great fighter. He’s going to be a great fighter, and one day, we’ll have to face Eddie Hearn in the Anthony Joshua trilogy. This time, we’re going to knock him out,” said Reynoso.
“We’re going to see when he fights next, and I have a lot of confidence in him, and what I’ve seen in the ring. He’s been learning in the short time that I’ve been teaching him,” Reynoso continued about Ruiz.
Reynoso needs to worry about Andy Ruiz winning his next two fights against 40-year-old Arreola and 41-year-old Luis Ortiz before he starts looking ahead and making bold predictions.
Joshua showed how to beat Ruiz in their last fight, which had nothing to do with him coming into the contest obese at 283 lbs. The distance fighting and the movement had the shorter 6’2″ Ruiz looking helpless to do anything, and it turned out to be a complete mismatch.
While it’s likely that Ruiz will get past Arreola, who is way his best at this stage in his career, but he could fall apart against Ortiz.
Ruiz needs to earn his title shot
Unless Ruiz beats a quality heavyweight in his prime, it’s hard to say that he should be given a third fight. If Ruiz is given a crack at a world title after beating Arreola and Ortiz in consecutive fights, it would be sending a wrong message to the sport.
Many other heavyweights have been waiting for their title shot against Joshua and Tyson Fury.
If Ruiz wants to fight the winner of the Joshua vs. Fury fights, he should have to beat one or two of these top fighters in addition to beating Arreola and Ortiz:
- Filip Hrgovic
- Joe Joyce
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Daniel Dubois
- Alexander Povetkin
- Dillian Whyte
- Deontay Wilder
- Michael Hunter
- Tony Yoka
“It’s easy for him to pick things up and learn,” said Reynoso. “Therefore, I think I have a long future ahead with him, and we’re going to keep working to make him a world champion once again.
“Yes, Andy Ruiz is a badass fighter, and he’s going to learn a lot about defense, counter-attacking, and things that will favor his height,” Reynoso said in reacting to Eddie Hearn saying Ruiz will beat Deontay Wilder.