Andy Ruiz Jr. says he wants to fight Anthony Joshua in a trilogy or Joseph Parker next. Ruiz has been inactive for the last fifteen months, and he’s hoping to hustle payday clash against Joshua or Joseph Parker, both of which own wins over him that he’d like to avenge.
The former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) watched Joshua’s fifth round victory over Otto Wallin. If Ruiz were in shape, he probably could have given AJ problems tonight, but he’ll never get another chance to face him because he’s wrecked his career with inactivity.
Ruiz, 34, is no longer mentioned by the top fighters because he’s only fought twice since his loss to Joshua in December 2019. Andy made millions from his two fights with AJ, and he’s been enjoying that dough.
In Ruiz’s two fights since 2019, he’s beaten 40-year-old Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz with both fights on PPV. Those were the wrong guys to fight for him to get the trilogy match that he wanted against Joshua.
It’s unclear whether Ruiz assumed that Eddie Hearn would let him get the trilogy against AJ battling older fighters.
Obviously, Ruiz or his management made a mistake because he’s been ignored by Joshua, and he’ll likely continue to be unless he beats some of the top contenders in the division.
Ruiz’s best bet would be to try and fight Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) because he’s got no one to fight after his win over Wilder.
He’s not going to get the March 9th fight with Joshua because that fight won’t sell on PPV, and he’s not crazy enough to fight Joe Joyce or Zhilei Zhang. Those guys would beat him.
Ruiz wants trilogy with Joshua
“There’s nothing really to make about it. I think he did what he had to do. His opponent didn’t really have a lot of skills,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. to Fight Hub TV when asked about his thoughts on Anthony Joshua’s victory over Otto Wallin on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I feel like he [Wallin] didn’t have a game plan fighting Anthony Joshua. When you fight Anthony Joshua, you have to have a game plan. I wish it was somebody with more skills, somebody that wants to win the fight and wants to throw punches like me,” Ruiz continued.
Wallin did have a game plan, but he didn’t have the youth, power, or hand speed to be successful against Joshua; hence, that’s why he was picked out in the first place.
If Wallin had the physical ability, he would been avoided. It doesn’t look like Ruiz has been keeping score because if he had, he’d have noticed that these were Joshua’s two previous opponents: Robert Helenius & Jermaine Franklin.
Hearn is picking fighters who have little to no talent exclusively to help resurrect Joshua’s career, and he’s getting a pass from casual fans who aren’t aware of what he’s doing.
“I wish it was me fighting him [Joshua] in a trilogy. If not, he’ll probably go another round. Of course, if not, there’s always Joseph Parker,” said Ruiz when asked if he wants to fight Joshua again.
“Man, I was praying for Joseph Parker to win [against Deontay Wilder tonight]. I was so happy. I’m so happy he won, and I congratulate him because, in every round, I’m like, ‘Please, God, help him,’ and what do you know? He ended up getting the victory.
“I wanted to beat Wilder, and I wish I had the opportunity to beat him. I don’t know. I think it was his timing; he was slow and sluggish. I don’t know what happened to him,” said Ruiz on what happened to Deontay for him to lose to Parker and look so bad.”
If Ruiz wants the Joshua & Parker fight bad enough, he’ll fight these heavyweights:
- Zhilei Zhang
- Agit Kabayel
- Martin Bakole
- Frank Sanchez
- Bakhodir Jalolov
“I don’t want to talk bad about a fighter before they even fight or for the build-up for a fight. That’s why I like to remain humble remain calm. I don’t like to talk bad about fighters. Every fighter is dangerous, and anything can happen.
“Hopefully, next year, I’ll be getting it on,” said Ruiz when asked when he’ll fight next. “I’ve seen a lot of fighters here that I could fight, and you never know. There’s a lot. So, hopefully, 2024 is my year.”
It’s not a good sign that Ruiz still doesn’t have a fight scheduled, and he’s been out of the ring for close to a year and a half. If he still doesn’t have an opponent picked out by September 2024, it would be two solid years in between fights.
Ruiz was already out of the ring for 2.5 years after his loss to Joshua in 2019. With this kind of inactivity, Ruiz might as well retire.
“I think that’s going to be pretty good. I got a lot of love for Usyk and I got a lot of love for Fury. If Tyson boxed him around and plays his cards right, he can probably win,” said Ruiz.
