Andy Ruiz Jr has named his price to fight Deontay Wilder, and it’s just the eight figures.
The battle of the two former world champions was ordered last November by the WBC. With Wilder being ranked number one and Ruiz number two, their bout would determine the mandatory challenger for champion Tyson Fury.
Neither man has been in the ring since October 2022, and are both work closely with PBC – another two reasons the fight made sense.
Despite the nudge from the sanctioning body, negotiations were slow to non-existent. Things ramped up this summer for a brief period, but Ruiz Jr’s father publicly said Wilder’s side had sent a lowball offer.
The American knockout artist later revealed that Ruiz had demanded $20-25 million for the bout – something he recognised at the Mexican ‘out-pricing himself.’
Speaking on Instagram Live recently, Ruiz – who held the unified heavyweight titles for six months in 2019 after defeating Anthony Joshua – said he would take a cool $10 million for the fight.
“I’ll fight him for $10m. They try to tell me they’ll offer me this or that but it’s all bulls***. They all know I’m a threat, they all know. Everybody knows I’m a threat. Champion of the world is the prize. ‘Why did you get that far?’, because you sacrificed. You had to leave your family, you had to leave your loved ones to get to there.”
He then revealed that Team Wilder had offered him the same amount he earned to fight Luis Ortiz – reported at the time to be $1 million. In his eyes, it’s unacceptable.
“They’re trying to pay me what I made for my last fight. It doesn’t make sense. You’re climbing up the ladders and then you get a big task. You’re supposed to beat him. I beat [Ortiz] and the purse is supposed to go higher and higher and higher. That’s the way it goes. If you don’t know, then don’t say s***.”
Despite the fresh offer, there are no signs from Wilder’s side that they’re willing entertain any more negotiations. In fact, his trainer Malik Scott says he is fine with the next fight being Anthony Joshua with nothing in between.