By Dan Ambrose: PBC has reportedly cut former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr from their stable for unknown reasons, setting him adrift as a free agent to be signed by any other promoter willing to ink the 33-year-old, who has fought just twice in the last four years since losing his three titles in a rematch against Andy Joshua.
JuliusJulianis reports that PBC is cutting the former IBF, WBA & WBO champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs), who has fought only times since 2019 against 40-year-old Chris Arreola and 43-year-old Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz.
Fighting just once a year since 2021 and only against exclusively 40+ year-olds, Ruiz hasn’t exactly set the heavyweight division on fire with his activity and competition.
Why did PBC cut Andy Ruiz Jr?
One can only speculate as to why PBC has chosen to cut Ruiz, who will be turning 34 in September, but in looking at his lack of activity in the last four years and his choice of competition, it’s reasonable to assume that he’s failed to keep his star power up, and it’s unclear whether he brought in good numbers in terms of PPV in his only two fights since losing his belts, Joshua.
- Lack of activity
- Poor opposition – focusing on 40+-year-old fighters
To stay popular in boxing, a fighter MUST fight frequently and against good opposition in competitive fights that the fans want to see them in. In looking at Ruiz’s career since 2019, he’s failed to do either of those things.
It’s not good enough for Ruiz to repeatedly call Joshua out for a trilogy match that he didn’t deserve, given his poor opposition and lack of activity. Ruiz should have tried to earn the Joshua trilogy clash by fighting these killers:
- Frank Sanchez
- Filip Hrgovic
- Jared Anderso
- Zhilei Zhang
- Martin Bakole
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Lenier Pero
Ruiz has failed to stay relevant
The former champion Ruiz has not fought frequently enough, and his opposition has arguably been picked from the junkyard of the heavyweight division, picking two old, faded, rusty fighters in Arreola and ‘King Kong’ Ortiz and struggling badly to beat both.
Source: PBC is cutting Andy Ruiz Jr who is becoming free agent
— JuliusJulianis (@julianisjulius) February 24, 2023
“[Andy Ruiz] was released from the agreement he had with Premier Boxing Champions, Andy’s father told ESPN KNOCKOUT, although he revealed that the fight against Deontay Wilder has not finished, and there is a possibility that the British Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua are also some of his solid options to return to the ring,” said Salvador Rodriguez.
It’s highly doubtful any of those fights will happen for Ruiz, unfortunately, and even if they did, the pay-per-view numbers would likely be dismal.
Ruiz should have been fighting the top-rung heavyweights in the last four years since losing his belts to Joshua, but he’s failed to do so. As such, he’s yesterday’s news as far as boxing fans are concerned and is the forgotten man. Why would Wilder, Fury, or Joshua want to fight Ruiz now that he’s slipped back into anonymity?