Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. is focused on boxing before returning to action on Saturday night.
The first top-division titleholder of Mexican descent, who claimed the crown in 2019 by shocking Anthony Joshua, has struggled to keep his mind on the job since his triumph. In the five years since, Ruiz has only fought three times, losing to Joshua in a rematch and beating Chris Arreola on Luis Ortiz.
Ruiz knows time is running out for him to make a further impact on the sport, and he faces Jarrell Miller this weekend in a bid to speed up the process.
Discussing the encounter, Ruiz says he’s put a bitter split with his ex behind him ahead of his co-feature clash on Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov. He aims to secure a rematch with Joseph Parker, who defeated him controversially in his first world title fight as a young contender.
“Next for me is Jarrell Miller; god willing, we get that win, and hopefully, I’d love to run it back with Joseph Parker. I’d love to get that rematch,” said Ruiz.
“Of course, I rate Jarrell Miller. Any fighter inside that ring is dangerous. You can’t underestimate anybody. We’ve got to be prepared. But we’ve got to be ready for whatever comes our way. We’ve just got to get that win. The main thing is just getting the victory, getting back in action, and getting ready to fight those big boys.”
On his blueprint for activity, Ruiz added, “Personally, I would like to have two fights against people that are in the top ten or top fifteen. I’ll fight against anyone else after this fight. I just want to fight the top guys, man. Joseph Parker is doing amazing things right now. He beat Wilder, and he beat Zhang. I’d love to fight him, too.”
Opening up on his outside-of-the-ring troubles, Ruiz stated, “I had many rollercoasters and many ups and downs over the years since my last fight against Luis Ortiz. I had surgery on my shoulder. I had some ‘baby momma ‘ drama, but guess what? I’m back, I’m ready to go, and I’m ready to become a two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
Ruiz is an overwhelming favorite to defeat Miller. However, “Big Baby” Miller has seemingly whipped himself into better shape to make the fight more competitive.
Crawford vs Madrimov info
Ruiz vs. Miller is part of a blockbuster Los Angeles Riyadh Season Card this weekend topped by the unmissable WBA and WBO interim Super-Welterweight World Title clash between pound-for-pound number one Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) and reigning champion Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs). In addition, Mexico’s Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) defends his WBA Super-Lightweight World Title against Jose Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs). Undefeated Heavyweight contender Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) collides with Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs) in an explosive NABF and WBO International Titles match-up.
Cuba’s David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) defends his WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title against Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs). Meanwhile, Olympic Lightweight Champion Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO) continues his 135lbs campaign when he takes on Mexico’s Antonio Moran (30-6-1, 21 KOs) with the IBF International and WBA Continental Latin-American Titles on the line.
Furthermore, unbeaten Super-Middleweights Steve Nelson (19-0, 15 KOs) and Marcos Ramon Vazquez (20-0-1, 10 KOs) meet over ten rounds. Finally, Saudi Arabian Welterweight talent Ziyad Almaayouf (5-0, 1 KO) fights in the US for the first time against Poland’s Michal Bulik (6-7, 2 KOs).
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
