Andy Ruiz Jr looking slim – still not fighting

By Boxing News - 06/05/2023 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr posted a new photo of himself on Twitter, and he looks considerably thinner than the 268 lbs he weighed for his last fight nine months ago against Luis Ortiz in September.

Looking almost like a retired wealthy millionaire, one of the idle rich, the inactive former IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) showed off his fancy clothes and an expensive-looking watch.

One sees from appearances that Ruiz isn’t hungry and doesn’t look ready to return to the ring soon. In September, the 33-year-old Ruiz will have been out of the ring for an entire year since his last fight against Ortiz.

It’s fair to say that Ruiz’s two fights against Anthony Joshua have been a blessing and a curse for his career. While Ruiz fattened his bank account and is now a wealthy man with a net worth estimated at $10 million, it’s also destroyed his ambition to the point where he’s fought only twice in the last four years, and both of those fights were against 40+-year-olds, Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz.

When you only fight two times since 2019, as we’ve seen with Ruiz, it’s impossible to keep your skills up, and it does a number on your popularity.

Ruiz is rarely talked about anymore, and instead of being in the thick of things, being invited by the Saudis to make huge money for their fight card in December in Saudi Arabia, he’s sitting on the sidelines, posting photos on Twitter, missing out on the mega-riches he could be making if only he had kept grinding away like the hard-working folks.

At this point, Ruiz has been so inactive that it’s unlikely that he will be able to regain the ability he showed when he pulled off a massive upset by knocking out Anthony Joshua in the seventh round in June 2019 in New York.

Ruiz has been slacking off for too long to regain what he had in his game. Also, when you’ve millions in the bank, it’s distracting unless you are a strong person who can focus, work hard, and live the way you did before you made all that money.

Given that Ruiz still doesn’t have a fight scheduled and is cruising around, looking like one of the cast members from the 1980s television series, ‘Miami Vice.‘ Ruiz does NOT look like he will return to the ring soon, and perhaps he should start considering retirement..