By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr. looks much thinner with his dramatic body transformation ahead of his September 4th headliner against Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz on FOX Sports pay-per-view at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.
The former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs), who reportedly is no longer working with trainer Eddy Reynoso, is trimming off the pounds in preparing for an essential 12-round fight against 43-year-old Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) on Labor Day on September 4th.
For the 32-year-old Ruiz, this will likely be his only fight in 2022, so he’s got to make sure he wins because he’s still hoping to get a trilogy match against Anthony Joshua.
The two are split with one win apiece, and Ruiz Jr is highly interested in a rubber match against the famous British star. To get that fight, Ruiz must keep winning, and it would help if he were to be more active against better opposition.
Ruiz has only fought once since his loss to Joshua in 2019, beating 40-year-old Chris Arreola last year in May 2021.
Some boxing fans believe the $10 million that Ruiz made from his two fights with Joshua has taken away his motivation & hunger to stay active in his career.
If Ruiz wins this fight, there’s the possibility he could face Deontay Wilder in a match-up that could lead to a world title shot against whoever holds the WBC title. Tyson Fury has the WBC belt, but he says he’s retired and won’t come back until he’s given $500 million.
Andy Ruiz is getting ready for his PPV fight against Luis Ortiz in Sept. 👀
🎥 @Andy_destroyer1 pic.twitter.com/FyxF6e8JFS
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 27, 2022
“This is a make-or-break fight, and the loser has to go to the back of the pack, and being in the back isn’t good for me,” said Luis Ortiz to Fighthype.
“If that’s the case with the belt, the WBC should make the fight between Andy Ruiz and me for the championship and make Tyson Fury some champion in recess. He should not hold up the belt,” said Ortiz when told that WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is saying he’s retired, yet he still hasn’t vacated.
“That’s not something in my thought process,” said ‘King Kong’ Ortiz when asked if he’ll retire if he loses to Andy Ruiz Jr on September 4th. “I feel younger & stronger than ever physically and mentally.
“I’m 100% committed to this fight emotionally & physically. I lost focus, disregarded my corner’s advice in what we were trying to do in that fight, and paid the ultimate price,” said Ortiz about his seventh-round knockout loss to former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in their rematch in November 2019.
“Moving forward, I’m going to focus more on the game plans and execute them and not deviate from them. I have no qualms about fighting Wilder three, four, or five times,” said Ortiz when asked about the possibility of facing Deontay with the winner to get a title shot.
