Andy Ruiz
'the destroyer'
Nation
Date of birth
september 11, 1989 (32 Years Old)
Height
6 FT 2 (188 CM)
Reach
74 in (188 cm)
Wins
35
Losses
2
Ko's
22
andy ruiz
'the destroyer'
Nation
DATE OF BIRTH
september 11, 1989 (32 Years Old)
Height
6 FT 2 (188 CM)
REACH
74 in (188 cm)
wins
35
Losses
2
ko's
22
Titles Won
Titles Won
Background
Starting boxing at the age of six through his father [1], Andy Ruiz Jr. compiled a successful 105-5 record in the amateurs, winning three titles in total while representing Mexico. He failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, losing in the qualifiers. In 2009, Andy Ruiz entered the professional ranks of boxing.
Accomplishments
Coached by legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach at the start of his career, Ruiz went on an undefeated winning streak and received an opportunity for a belt in 2013 where he soundly beat his opponent Joe Hanks by TKO in the 4th round. The WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight title was his reward, and in the next match Ruiz went on to win the WBC-NABF Heavyweight title, retaining his WBO title in the process.
Ruiz continued his winning streak – retaining his titles occassionally throughout – and in 2016 on December 10, he earned his shot at the vacant WBO world title against Joseph Parker where he lost due to a controversial majority decision in Parker’s home country New Zealand.
Andy Ruiz won his next three fights and became one of the candidates to replace Jarrell Miller – who had failed several drug tests – in his fight against Anthony Joshua for his world titles. After weeks of Anthony Joshua’s team looking to find a replacement, Ruiz was announced as Miller’s replacement on May 1, 2019.
The match between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr took place on the June 1, 2019. Ruiz came into the match as a heavy underdog, and during the match didn’t doubt his critics when he got knocked down in the third round by Anthony Joshua, but his subsequent knockdown of the unified champion and dominant performance earned him a surprise victory by TKO in the 7th round of the bout, when the referee waved off the fight after deeming AJ as too disoriented or confused to continue fighting. This victory marked Andy Ruiz’ first world title win, and propelled him in the history records as the first Mexican-American world heavyweight champion with the four world titles he won.
Anthony Joshua quickly activated the rematch clause that was negotiated into the contract with his bout against Ruiz, forcing Ruiz Jr to fight AJ on December 17, 2020. The match took place in Saudi Arabia in the town of Diriyah, and Ruiz lost against Anthony Joshua in a unanimous decision loss, losing all his titles in the process.
His next fight against Chris Arreola in May 1st of 2021 saw him come out as the eventual winner by unanimous decision despite suffering a knockdown, and he followed up his positive performance with another UD win when he faced Luis Ortiz (held on September 4, 2022) in a WBC eliminator bout to face the eventual winner of the Wilder vs. Helenius bout. In his match against Ortiz, he proved his capability once more when he knocked down the veteran Cuban fighter at least three times.
Boxing Style
Despite his chubby frame, Ruiz has adopted a style that’s perfect for his build and he often uses a devastating form where he launches a succession of quick combos with dangerous hooks to overwhelm his opponents. Believed to have the fastest hands in heavyweight boxing [2], Ruiz has garnered success with his style but he has on occassion struggled to balance his style with his weight; proving to be quite slower than usual when he was overweight in his rematch against Anthony Joshua. His punches however, have proved to be powerful enough to drop the likes of Joshua and Ortiz and combined with his punching speed he has become one of the highest-rated heavyweights in the recent era.