By Jeff Aronow: Andy Ruiz Jr says Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz are two options for his next fight this year. The former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) recently got back to his winning ways with a 12 round unanimous decision over Chris Arreola on May 1st after losing his three titles to Anthony Joshua in December 2019.
Ruiz has already asked Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn to set up a trilogy match between him and AJ, but it’s not happening yet.
Joshua is busy with a fight against Oleksandr Usyk in September, and then he’ll face the winner of the trilogy match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
If Ruiz keeps winning, he could get his shot against the last man standing in 2022. It’s going to be tough for Ruiz to beat Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) or Luis Ortiz, as those are two talented heavyweights with the potential to give any fighter problems.
Beating Whyte would put Ruiz in the catbird seat for a shot against the eventual winner of the important fights this year.
Ruiz lists Luis Ortiz & Whyte as options
“There’s a lot of different options, there’s Luis Ortiz, he’s been calling me out,” said Andy Ruiz Jr to Mike Tyson’s HotboxinPodcast. “There’s [Dillian] Whyte from the UK; there’s a lot of good opponents out there.
“I just got to stay in shape and be ready. Me and him [Whyte] have been going back and forth, talking s***. He has no respect, no respect.
“That’ll be a good fight between me and him, Luis Ortiz as well, Wilder. I thought me and Wilder were going to negotiate something, but I guess he got the call for the trilogy with Tyson Fury. I think they should have a tournament to see who should fight each other.
“He could fight that guy Deontay Wilder; there are so many guys he can fight,” said Mike Tyson about Andy Ruiz’s next fight. “He can fight that guy from England again.
Mike Tyson: Fury has got Deontay’s number
“Deontay and Tyson, they making that loot, man. Deontay has nothing to be sad about, he fought a great fight, but I just think Tyson [Fury] has got his number.
“Anything can happen, he punches hard. They’re both the same size, but Tyson is a lot heavier. The people want to see it.
“Fury was 270 lbs and Wilder 230,” said Andy Ruiz. “I think if Tyson Fury brings the fight to him and pressures him, I think we’ll see the same thing as the last fight,” said Iron Mike.
Ruiz must fight someone like Whyte or Ortiz next because he will not help himself if he continues to fight older guys like 40-year-old Chris Arreola.
While it was nice that Ruiz beat Arreola, he gained little because he failed to knock him out, and he shockingly dropped him in the second round. Arreola hurt Ruiz, and he was lucky that the older guy didn’t go after him.
Ruiz Jr asked Hearn to set up a trilogy with Joshua
“I even messaged Eddie Hearn, saying, ‘Hey, Eddie, what’s up with the trilogy between me against Anthony Joshua?’
“The only thing he wrote was the worried faces and ‘Deja Vu,’ and I think that would be perfect. I’m ‘Come on, Eddie Hearn, give me the f**** fight.’
“My opportunities will come as long as I stay active and stay busy,” Ruiz continued. “I’m pretty sure they will unless they’re scared,” said Andy Jr when asked if Joshua and Hearn will give him the trilogy fight that he’s asking for.
“I think I got confident in the first couple of rounds, and he got in my head and kind of wobbled me a little bit,” said Ruiz about his recent fight against Chris Arreola in which he was dropped in the second round.
Hearn says he wants Ruiz to beat one of the elite heavyweights before he considers making a trilogy fight between him and Joshua. Arreola doesn’t count.
If Ruiz chooses to try and go the backdoor route to earn a trilogy fight against Joshua by facing older fighters, he may end up with nothing to show for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze25Ih00Crc