By Matt Lieberman: Fans will need to wait one week later to watch the pay-per-view clash between former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr and Chris Arreola on May 1st rather than the previously scheduled April 24th date.
ESPN Deportes reports that the Ruiz Jr vs. Arreola Premier Boxing Champions PPV fight card is being pushed back a week.
Although no reason was given for the move, it’s believed that they want to avoid a UFC card on April 24th.
It wouldn’t be a good idea to run the Ruiz-Arreola fight up against a UFC card, considering it’s going to be tough enough as it is to attract boxing to purchase it on pay-per-view.
There’s zero buzz about Ruiz’s comeback fight against the 40-year-old Arreola, and for a good reason. It’s a mismatch between heavyweights that are coming off losses.
The Ruiz vs. Chris Arreola undercard will have the following fights:
- Sebastian ‘Towering Inferno’ Fundora vs. Jorge Cota
- Omar Figueroa vs. Abel Ramos
- Jesus Ramos vs. Javier Molina
The 40-year-old former two-time heavyweight world title challenger Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs) will be fighting for the first time in almost two years.
Arreola hasn’t seen action since his thrilling 12 round decision loss to Adam Kownacki in August 2019. It was believed that Arreola was done from the sport permanently after that loss, but he’s been lured out of retirement.
With the fight against former IBF, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) being shown on pay-per-view, Arreola will get a nice payday if it brings in a decent number of buys.
Pushing the fight back a week to May 1st could encourage a few more fans to purchase it on PPV. What’s troubling is the lack of advertising for the Ruiz-Arreola card.
There’s been very little promotion of the fight, and it’s unclear if the promoters are going to wait until the last week to start promoting or what.
Sources for ESPN Deportes say the Andy Ruiz vs. Chris Arreola card will be taking place at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
It would be a good idea for the promoters for the event to let the fans know about the location. This would be time to let people know where it’ll be staged.
Andry Ruiz, 31, will be fighting for the first time since his disappointing loss to Anthony Joshua in their rematch in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia. Ruiz has a new trainer in Eddy Reynoso, who also coaches Saul Canelo Alvarez.
With Reynoso motivating Ruiz, he’s lost a lot of weight and looks nothing like the out-of-shape 280+ lb fighter that lost his title to Joshua.
It’s good that Ruiz has lost the fight, but it’s less important for this fight than it will be down the road when he resumes fighting top-tier opposition.
Ruiz reportedly has already called out former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder as someone that he wants to fight if he gets by Arreola on May 1st.
Andy Jr says a fight between him and Deontay Wilder would be one that would like to take after Arreola. To be sure, Ruiz Jr vs. Wilder would be pay-per-view, unlike the Arreola fight, which is not considered a good buy.
“I would love to fight Wilder,” Ruiz Jr. said Little Giant Boxing.
According to ESPN Deportes, Andy Ruiz’s weight is below the 268 lbs that he weighed for his upset win over Joshua in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
If this is true, it’s a real positive for Ruiz’s career, as long as he doesn’t start celebrating and letting himself go after the Arreola fight.
Arreola was one of the most popular heavyweights in the division for many years, and he’s fought a lot o the top guys over the years. Unfortunately for Arreola, he was never able to capture a title.
Arreola’s biggest career fights:
- Vitali Klitschko
- Jameel McCline
- Tomasz Adamek
- Bermane Stiverne x 2
- Eric Molina
- Deontay Wilder
- Seth Mitchell
- Adam Kownacki