By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr has volunteered to step in as a late replacement to face Anthony Joshua in the main event on August 12th after his previous scheduled opponent Dillian Whyte was removed from the card following VADA reporting his drug testing sample returned adverse analytical findings in a random test.
Even if Joshua & Eddie Hearn were intrigued by the idea of using Ruiz as the replacement, negotiating the match would be near impossible given the short time before August 12th.
Ruiz realizes he has Joshua over a barrel, needy, desperate, in a position of weakness, and would ask for a small fortune.
The former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) would be an excellent replacement, but he’s too dangerous for AJ to fight on seven days’ notice. Joshua would be begging for trouble if he were to agree to fight the 33-year-old Ruiz.
“Eddie Hearn, Joshua, I think I found a new replacement again. Let’s run it back, let’s get the trilogy,” said Andy Ruiz Jr on social media, volunteering to step in as the replacement for Anthony Joshua on August 12th.
Deja vu for Joshua
AJ already got knocked out four years ago when he chose to use the stocky Ruiz as his opponent after his initially scheduled foe Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller tested positive for a banned substance. Ruiz shocked the world, knocking Joshua out in the seventh round.
We need that trilogy @EddieHearn 🥊 https://t.co/kZFt5gQn65
— AndyRuizJr (@Andy_destroyer1) August 5, 2023
No 🦆s on this side 🥊🇲🇽🇺🇸 #LetsGo #Wilder #Joshua #Fury pic.twitter.com/FEJXGUvMDJ
— AndyRuizJr (@Andy_destroyer1) August 5, 2023
Joshua later avenged that defeat, beating an out-of-shape Ruiz in their rematch in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
The $10 million+ that Ruiz made from his two fights with Joshua has done a number on his ambition, as he’s rarely fought since then, fighting just twice in the last four years, beating 40-year-old Chris Arreola and 43-year-old Luis Ortiz.
If the goal is to find an opponent that will bring in the PPV buys on DAZN on August 12th, Andy Ruiz Jr is the guy that Joshua needs to bring in the dough.
Again, there probably won’t be enough time to negotiate a deal with Ruiz because he’s going to want absurd money, and he’s not worth it because he hasn’t kept his career going by staying active. Ruiz has become a forgotten man since his loss to Joshua in 2019.
It’s now been eleven months since Ruiz last fought, but he’s training, keeping the weight off, and preparing for what he hopes will be a big payday fight against Wilder. It would be a perilous fight for Wilder, given that he’ll face Joshua in Saudi Arabia soon.
Ruiz has been in recent negotiations with former Deontay Wilder, but the talks have gone nowhere due to Andy’s insistence on receiving parity.
