Andy Ruiz Jr. suffered the disappointment of Deontay Wilder canceling plans for a WBC eliminator. Fears are now growing over the future of the former unified heavyweight champion.
It’s not been a good year for the Mexican-American contender regarding home life or career. His last bout came in September 2022 when he defeated two-time Wilder foe Luis Ortiz.
Since then, the World Boxing Council’s plans to pit Ruiz against Wilder have fallen flat. It’s not the first time this has happened to Ruiz.
With the Ortiz result, his rise towards another title shot seemed to be on course last fall. His blueprint to face Wilder and then challenge Tyson Fury – if victorious – was in motion.
However, reports of Ortiz asking for too much money accompanied a very public breakup with his wife and the mother of his children.
Andy Ruiz Jr. in career turmoil
Amid all the turmoil, Fury tried and failed to bypass the WBC final eliminator by offering Ruiz a straight shot at the green and gold belt. “The Gypsy King” claimed Ruiz priced himself out after months went by with no Wilder deal.
The Wilder fight seemed to get back on track when they called each other out on social media. But again, further details emerged from his opponent’s team – this time Malik Scott – that Ruiz’s demands were too high.
This has left Ruiz on the shelf without an opponent or the prospect of a fight this fall. It could be the end of the year before Ruiz sees action.
After defeating Anthony Joshua and getting a massive payday in the rematch, Ruiz has seemed to lack focus on boxing in the two years since. That’s just an observational opinion based on what “The Destroyer” puts out there himself.
Career halted
There have been flashpoints from his ex-wife that caused concern at the time. This could affect his mindset when trying to get his career back on track.
Having his clothes thrown out of their family home and accusations of drug taking thrown in his face won’t have helped the situation.
Ruiz looks to have his private life in a good place at the moment, but his boxing career needs a shot in the arm.
It’s been three weeks since Ruiz posted anything from the gym. He’s also got no representation at the moment apart from his father, who has faced accusations by Wilder of being the one that’ pricing his son out of fights.
The boxing fans are the ones to miss out. They now have Fury facing Francis Ngannou when it could have been Ruiz. They also have no WBC eliminator to look forward to with Wilder. That bout was four years in the making for Al Haymon.
Who does Ruiz Jr. fight now?
There aren’t many options available to him at the moment. Many top contenders have their path to a world title shot carved out. They won’t want to risk that to take on a dangerous opponent like Ruiz.
It might be a case of a warm-up for the one-tile belt holder, and it could be another year before he gets back into a position to challenge for a title.
A return with Ortiz probably wouldn’t be a great start.
By Phil Jay