Former Unified Heavyweight World Champion Andy Ruiz Jr has unveiled, what looks to be, a totally transformed physique, in preparation for his pay-per-view clash with Luis “King Kong” Ortiz this Sunday.
Ruiz has often been criticised about his build and has even beed dubbed as the “chubby Mexican” who shocked the world.
He was particularly scrutinised for his weight when he made his lone defence of the world titles, in the rematch with Anthony Joshua in December 2019. Ruiz came into the fight weighing 283 ½ lbs, 15 ½ lbs heavier than he weighed in the original bout, which he took on short notice after AJ’s original opponent, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, failed a drugs test.
However, when “The Destroyer” made a comeback against Chris Arreola in May of last year, he seemed to have taken the weight loss too far, coming into the fight almost 30 lbs lighter than his previous fight.
Renowned boxing trainer turn analyst, Teddy Atlas, felt that this may have been the reason behind his lacklustre performance that night, claiming on his podcast that Ruiz “may have lost too much weight under his new trainer”.
On this occasion, from the footage that has been released, Ruiz seems to have got his body into a far superior shape, being not only trim, but seemingly having gained muscle mass. This could be a signal of intent from the 32-year-old that he has serious ambitions of getting another world title shot.
💪 @Andy_destroyer1 looking in shape for his fight with Luis Ortiz.
🔞 @Betfred Fight Odds: https://t.co/sJMgb4Vnrx…pic.twitter.com/MEaN6mx1PL
— Boxing Social (@boxing_social) September 2, 2022
Ruiz, Mexico’s first ever heavyweight world champion, has often joked about his size and isn’t getting too carried away with concerns over his weight going into the fight, claiming that the boxing “is not a body contest”.
We will see if the hard work has paid off for Ruiz on Sunday night, as he takes on Luis Ortiz. US fans can watch the fight on FOX Sports PPV for $74.99, whereas UK Fans can stream the action on FITE TV at a price of £12.99.