By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr. says he wants to take a tune-up fight and then sit down & negotiate one-on-one with Deontay Wilder for a big event after that.
Ruiz isn’t saying who he wants to face in a warm-up fight, but he needs to be careful because he hasn’t looked overly sharp in his last three fights against Luis Ortiz, Chris Arreola, and Anthony Joshua. Ortiz & Arreola were both over 40, and they gave Ruiz a run for his money.
Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) is interested in fighting the 34-year-old Ruiz, but they need to agree on the money part because the reason the two failed to set up a fight. According to Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott, Ruiz wanted an even split, and that failed to fly with ‘The Bronze Bomber.’
It’s important that Wilder get back in action soon, be it against Ruiz or someone else, as he’s fought only one round since his loss to Tyson Fury in 2021.
That’s too much inactivity for Wilder to stay sharp, so if he can’t set up a fight with Ruiz, he needs to find someone to keep his career alive.
Deontay had hoped to fight Anthony Joshua, but the Saudis chose not to make the deal. Some fans believe they’ve lost interest due to the lack of activity from both fighters and how timid AJ has looked since his loss to Ruiz in 2019.
The former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) has been out of the ring for over a year since his narrow twelve-round unanimous decision win over 43-year-old Luis Ortiz last year in September.
Ruiz wants to negotiate with Wilder
“We’re back from the cage. We were locked up. I’m back. I feel good; I feel blessed, especially with the people that I’m around. A lot of support,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. to Fight Hub TV about him returning to the ring soon.
“Me and him [Deontay Wilder] need to negotiate. We need to talk man-to-man, ‘Let’s fight. If it’s not 50-50, let’s negotiate whatever it is and make it happen. I’m going to beat your a**.’
Ruiz needs to get his promoter to meet with Wilder’s management to get the deal done because neither of these guys is getting any younger. It’s not just Ruiz that has been inactivity issues. Wilder has been almost as bad, fighting just once in the last two years and on an annual basis before that.
“He’s older than me. I still have a lot of years in my career, but like I said, I’m trying to fight Wilder. Joshua is not going to fight Wilder. He’s scared. I feel Wilder will beat Joshua, but I want to fight Wilder,” said Ruiz.
“I’m ready to get back in the ring, and that’s why I’m here to talk to Tom Brown and to talk to Al Haymon. We’re ready for the big fights,” Ruiz continued. “I’m probably going to have a tune-up fight and then probably fight Wilder, but we’re waiting.
“It’s all bull s**t. He doesn’t want to fight. He never even gave me an offer. how am I going to say, ‘Hey, I want $25 million?’ It’s all bull s**t,” said Ruiz about Wilder saying the reason their fight failed to happen is because he’s asking for too much money.
Ruiz needs to get a solid tune-up opponent and start worrying about the Wilder fight. For the last four years, Ruiz has been enjoying his $10 million fortune a little too much and has failed to keep his once-promising career alive.
Andy dreams of beating Deontay
Ruiz says he’s had a dream of beating Wilder, and he feels that it’s his destiny to face the big 6’7″ former WBC champion to defeat him.
If Ruiz had been dialed in, he could have fought eight to ten times in the last four ye ars instead of just twice, and he’d likely have double the money he has now.
“He’s over here trying to blame my dad. Dads are going to try and look out for their kids,” said Ruiz. “Tell him to show me proof that I wanted $25 million because that’s a lie. There was nothing offered [from Team Wilder].
“They just told me if I would want to fight him, I said, ‘Yeah, make an offer. Send me a contract.’ It didn’t happen. I had a dream that I fought this big guy, and it was Wilder, and I knocked him down, and I won. That’s exactly why I’m trying to stay in shape to get ready, and I’m going to win. I’m going to win that fight,” said Ruiz.
