By Allan Fox: Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. revealed today that his comeback will be delayed until 2024 due to recent surgery.
The 34-year-old Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) didn’t specify what type of surgery he had, but he says it was five days ago, and he’s already back in training.
It’s been over a year since Ruiz last fought in September 2022, barely beating 43-year-old Luis Ortiz in a fight on DAZN. That was only the second fight for ‘The Destroyer’ Ruiz since losing his IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight titles in a rematch in December 2019.
Ruiz is an example of a fighter who makes a bunch of money and then loses the ambition to continue to work hard. The problem that Ruiz now has is that he’s been so inactive that he can’t get the large paydays that he wants, which leads to even more inactivity.
He could have fought this year, but he wanted lucrative fights against Tyson Fury & Deontay Wilder and then priced himself out.
“Hey guys, I just got done working out. Five days out of my surgery, and we’re back in the gym, feeling good, feeling blessed, and I can’t wait to get back in the ring,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. on social media, giving an update on his comeback attempt.
“2024 is my year, baby, it’s my year. Remember that. I had a little minor setback for a major comeback, and we’re coming, baby. Let’s get it,” said Ruiz.
If Ruiz does make it back to the ring in 2024, he needs to focus on taking some tune-ups rather than wasting energy trying to lure a big name into the ring, as his popularity has fallen off dramatically. He’s literally back to where he was before he fought Joshua and is now just a nobody once again. Rags to riches, back to rags again.
Recently, Ruiz had been calling out Deontay Wilder for a fight, but it failed. According to the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott, Ruiz was asking for too much money.
Some believe that Ruiz is no longer motivated to keep his career going due to the $10 million he received from his two fights with Anthony Joshua in 2019. The momentum that Ruiz had for his career up until that point has fallen off, as he’s slipped into the easy life, enjoying the millions he made.
If Ruiz doesn’t return next year, he might as well retire from boxing because he’s not going to want to fight for the chump change that he’d get now that he’s let his popularity deteriorate due to inactivity.
