Amid a grueling regime of pain and self-punishment, one where dietary denial and torturous physical toil has resulted in a drastic body transformation, Andy Ruiz still allows himself a cheat meal. He used to have a cheat day, or sometimes even a cheat week. The former four-belt world heavyweight champion remembers spending hours indulging in Snickers bars and pizzas, cakes and cookies, burgers and enchiladas and, frankly, whatever else sounded good at the time. That came in the aftermath of his stunning victory over Anthony Joshua in June of 2019 that catapulted him to the top table of boxing’s heavyweight division, made him rich beyond his wildest dreams and seemed to set up a glittering future. The problem was, the revelry and indulgence also stretched into the preparations for the Joshua rematch, where a bloated Ruiz quickly got gassed and was easily picked apart by the Englishman, losing via a lopsided unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia 16 months ago. Now, he says, he’s ready for his career to be rebirthed. “I killed the old Andy and a new Andy was born,” Ruiz told reporters, ahead of his Saturday night clash with Chris Arreola (9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports pay-per-view). “I have a lot to prove. I let a lot of people down, which is why I had to make big changes to myself.” It’s not particularly kind to talk so much about someone’s weight, but in boxing there are few topics that are spoken about more freely. The entire sport is built upon a category of weight classes and the business is obsessed with it, believing – with some merit – that a boxer’s number when he steps on the scales can be an indicator of his commitment level during the arduous process of readying for battle. That’s how it was with Ruiz. It wasn’t that he lost to Joshua that caused the sport to write him off, but how out-of-shape and unconditioned he appeared while doing so. He weighed in at 283 pounds that night. This time, for Arreola, he expects to come in at around 255, after working tirelessly with new trainer Eddy Reynoso. Heading into Saturday night’s clash, Ruiz is listed at -5000, per FOX Bet. Arreola, who lost a world title bid against Vitali Klitschko in 2009, once wished for the kind of acclaim Ruiz received after beating Joshua. Now 40, he’s simply hoping for a major upset to give his trajectory a late-career lift. For Ruiz’s triumph over Joshua the first time they met sparked a delirious reaction south of the border and in the boxing-loving Mexican-American community. Never before had a fighter of Mexican heritage claimed a heavyweight crown. Ruiz partied hard and paraded even harder, enjoying a ceaseless round of celebrations and tributes, even meeting Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He bought a Rolls Royce and lived it up. And ate, a lot. This is an admittedly terrible pun, but now he has a hunger of a different kind. “I want the heavyweight title even more now,” he said. “It is because of the way I lost. I imagine that if I’d been in this shape, I’d have won the rematch with Joshua. Things happen for a reason and I’m just happy I have the mindset I have now.” Now the aim is to get squarely back into the mix of a heavyweight division that has more energy about it than at any time for the past decade and more. The respective camps representing Joshua and Tyson Fury are circling each other, trying to get the best deal for their man in what would be a spectacularly-awaited matchup, hopefully sooner than later. Alabama’s Deontay Wilder, who fought to a draw and then a defeat to Fury yet remains a fierce knockout threat, is still part of the equation. Ruiz, with his personality and popularity, would be a welcome addition – or re-addition – to the quartet, as long as he’s at his best. “This is a huge opportunity for Andy to get back in there,” former two-time welterweight world champion and FOX Sports Boxing Analyst Shawn Porter told me. “He is a popular fighter with fantastic hand speed, but he has to be fully focused on his craft. “Now he needs to go and show everyone he is fully committed and ready to take it to the top fighters.” Things can happen quickly in the heavyweight division, one punch or one twist of fate enough to make or break a career. Ruiz’s first big chance came when Joshua’s originally scheduled opponent for the June 2019 fight, Jarrell Miller, was ruled out due to a failed drug test. He took that chance, lost his way, and now he’s getting another opportunity to rebuild. Ruiz admits he will never be a skinny man nor possess the bodybuilder-type physique of Fury or Wilder. But he’s a leaner, meaner and definitely keener version of himself, and he’s once again moving on the right path. Here’s what others have said … Brian Campbell, CBS Sports: “If Andy Ruiz Jr.’s boxing career wasn’t already a perfect candidate for one day showing up on a Hollywood script thanks to his 2019 upset knockout of unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as a last-minute opponent, the two years that immediately followed have only added depth to the overall story.” Kevin Lole, Yahoo Sports: “Ruiz, who literally ate, drank and partied his way out of the championship, is a fat man no more.” Andres Ferrari, ESPN: “It’s going to be the fact that Ruiz is now with trainer Eddy Reynoso and the culture in that gym. … I don’t know if those pictures they post on social media are photoshopped or not, but Ruiz looks good. He looks in shape, looks focused, and it looks like he’s going to be, again, a force to be reckoned with in this heavyweight division.” |
