Andy Ruiz Jr. floating idea of Luis Ortiz PPV fight

By Boxing News - 03/24/2022 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: Andy Ruiz Jr. asked his fans today on social media to give their thoughts on him fighting Luis Ortiz next on PPV.  Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) is ready to return to the ring after a nearly year-long layoff since his fight against Chris Arreola in 2021, and he needs an opponent.

The reaction has been primarily adverse by fans at the idea of paying to watch Ruiz fight ‘King Kong’ Ortiz on pay-per-view.

That’s not a PPV-worthy fight in the eyes of fans, as many of them have lost faith in Ruiz after losing his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles in his rematch with Anthony Joshua in December 2019, failing to train hard.

Ruiz needs a couple of good wins

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently offered 38-year-old veteran heavyweight Derek Chisora as an opponent for Ruiz Jr to fight, but there’s no interest.

Even if the fans are pessimistic about paying to see Ruiz-Ortiz on pay-per-view, Ruiz needs to take the fight because he needs to pick up a couple of wins over notable contenders to get in line for a title shot.

Image: Andy Ruiz Jr. floating idea of Luis Ortiz PPV fight

If Ruiz can beat Ortiz and then perhaps defeat someone like Frank Sanchez or Joseph Parker, he’ll be able to challenge for a world title in 2023 against whoever holds the four belts by the point.

With the way things are going, it’s predictable that Tyson Fury will be the undisputed heavyweight champion in 2023. Ruiz could be in an enviable position to challenge him for his four belts if he makes the right decisions in 2022.

That means fighting Luis Ortiz next and then going after another top guy like Parker, Charles Martin, or Robert Helenius. Those are all winnable fights for Ruiz if he’s in excellent condition, like he was in his first fight with Joshua in June 2019.

Above all, Ruiz needs to face an actual contender for him to increase his chances of getting a trilogy match against Anthony Joshua or a world title shot. Andy doesn’t need another tune-up fight, so forget about fighting Chisora or another older heavyweight.

#4 WBC Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) would be perfect for Ruiz, given his high ranking and experience fighting for world titles against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Hearn had over two years ago that Ruiz needed to beat some notable names for him to be considered for a trilogy match with Joshua.

Sadly, instead of Ruiz listening to what Hearn had said, he chose 40-year-old Chris Arreola last year rather than facing Luis Ortiz.

On top of that, Ruiz made things worse for himself by sitting out of the ring for the last ten months, doing nothing since his unimpressive win over Ortiz.

Yeah, Ruiz has an excuse for being out of action due to his knee surgery, but he still could have taken a fight before that against the 42-year-old Ortiz instead of selecting Arreola.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Andy Ruiz Jr (@andy_destroyer13)