Via Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr says he spoke to Andy Joshua last Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, asking him for just a three-part match between them.
Ruiz said Joshua told him he would contact him “Early” about a third war between them. Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) needs a well-tuned skirmish or two to prepare him to face the elites after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) has yet to do anything since a one-sided loss to Joshua in a rematch in December 2019 that shocked the boxing world, especially the British. care about.
If Joshua were to fight Ruiz now, it would be like a take money, similar to Tyson Fury’s trilogy against 38-year-old cruiser Derek Chisora on December 3.
“I said to him, ‘What’s good? Make that trilogy, man. ‘ He was like, “Hey, I’ll get in touch with you soon, man,” Andy Ruiz Jr said to Against TV Hub about him approaching Anthony Joshua last Saturday night in Abu Dhabi to ask him for a three part fight.
“Well, whatever,” Ruiz said when asked about his preference in the fight against Deontay Wilder. “Anything that gives me the chance to be a champion again, that’s exactly what I want. But, of course, in my heart, I want a childtheology because, in my last fight against him, it wasn’t Andy Ruiz.
“We’re still waiting for him to agree,” Ruiz said of his fight against Wilder. “But I think he wants to fight Usyk. I don’t think he doesn’t want the WBC belt anymore. I think he wants to conquer all the other belts.
“I want to conquer the WBC belt. That’s the belt I’m interested in. That’s what I’ll be working on.
Ruiz hasn’t done enough since a one-way defeat to Joshua to secure a third bout. It will not sell to the British boxing public on PPV as it will be deemed an inappropriate given how the second fight between them plays out.
Since Ruiz lost to Joshua, he fought only twice, defeating 40 years old Chris Arreola and 43 years old Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz. Instead of fighting the old guys, Ruiz needs to beat a few strong contenders like Joe Joyce, Frank Sanchez and Filip Hrgovic.
Obviously, Ruiz isn’t going to fight any of those guys because the odds of him losing would be too high, and he wants payday Tuesday to see Joshua in the worst possible way.
You can’t blame Ruiz for pushing a trio with Joshua, but it would be a waste of time for Joshua to acclimate to him as it’s pretty clear that he purposely fought easy fights to avoid losing and ruined his chances for a trio.
In other words, Ruiz is following the same formula Gennadiy Golovkin used to get his three-part match against Canelo Alvarez. Instead of engaging in major confrontations over the past four years, Golovkin has sparred without risk, which some fans feel is to keep him from ruining his chances on a third payday. before Canelo.
Ruiz seems to be doing the same thing, which is why there are few or no fans interested in watching a third fight between him and Joshua. It would be a different story if Ruiz beat some heavyweights, but it doesn’t look like it’s willing to do that.
Ruiz says Ramirez needs to put pressure on Bivol
“I think it was a great battle. I think Bivol has done his thing. I think Zurdo needs to put a little more pressure and not fight with the back foot,” Ruiz said of WBA lightweight champion Dmitry Bivol’s win over mandatory opponent Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on Saturday night. before in Abu Dhabi.
“I think he needs to put pressure on him and bring him down. I think that should be his game plan, breaking him at the beginning and launching his synergies.
“Man, it’s almost three o’clock in the morning, and he [Zurdo Ramirez] fighting at two o’clock in the morning. So how do you think his body feels? We’re not used to that, fighting at two in the morning. I’m not saying it’s an excuse, but it was a great fight,” Ruiz said.
Looks like Ruiz is blaming Gilberto Ramirez’s loss in battle, and that’s silly. Ramirez looks painfully slow, he will lose to Bivol no matter what time they fight. Zurdo Ramirez isn’t good enough, and few excuses from Ruiz or his fans are going to change that.
“Bivol did his thing. That’s why speed is so important,” continued Ruiz. “We had to give our combinations, but Bivol, it was his day. But a loss is nothing. It just gives us the motivation to keep going for more,” said Ruiz.
Ramirez’s loss to Bivol was more important than Ruiz thought because it was the first time in his thirteen-year career that he had played against a good opponent.
Prior to this bout, Ramirez had been battling beatable opponents since turning pro and he won his WBO super middleweight belt against oversized middleweight champion Arthur Abraham in 2016. .
After that victory, Ramirez mostly fought the opposition with no real threat to defeat him. Ramirez never mixed it with the elite at 168, and when he turned 175, he continued to follow that pattern.
To be fair, if Ramirez were to play any of these heavyweights, he would have lost as badly as he had against Bivol:
- Joshua Buatsi
- Callum Smith
- Craig Richards
- Callum Johnson
- Joe Smith
- Dan Azeez
- Jean Pascal
- Radivoje Kaldjdzic
“That’s because it’s two different styles,” Ruiz said when asked if Bivol looked better against Ramirez than against Canelo Alvarez last May.
“I think Zurdo made it easy for Bivol because he didn’t put pressure on him. He did a lot of synergies, but Zurdo did a great job. I think it’s going to be a really good battle,” Ruiz said when asked for his thoughts on a potential rematch between Canelo and Bivol next year.
“I think Bivol has a lot of experience right now, fighting a lot of Mexicans, tough Mexicans, but he’s good. He has a good amateur style. It’s also what makes it hard for him to hit him,” Ruiz said.
