Andy Ruiz Jr has listed the attributes he thinks will lead him to beat Deontay Wilder should the pair honour the WBC’s order of a final eliminator fight.
Ruiz Jr, who sensationally beat Anthony Joshua for the heavyweight titles before losing them in an immediate rematch, is coming off a decision victory over Luis Ortiz – and now he’s targeting ‘The Bronze Bomber.’
Wilder kicked off a successful comeback trail with a first round knockout over Robert Helenius. Now, the two fighters are on a collision course to determine who will be next in line to get a shot at Tyson Fury’s belt.
Most in the sport have tipped Wilder to get the victory, however promoter Eddie Hearn recently backed Ruiz to win.
“I see him beating Deontay Wilder. Wilder was good the other night and, although Helenius may have been past his best, Wilder is still very dangerous and he’s brilliant for the sport. But Andy Ruiz is a warrior. He won’t mind standing in front of Wilder; he’s got that low style where he comes in over the top and sometimes Wilder doesn’t like that.”
Unsurprisingly, the Mexican heavyweight agrees. He spoke to Boxing Social, listing why he believes he has the beating of Wilder as well as predicting the knockout punch.
“For me, I feel that I can take a punch. I’m not saying that he doesn’t hit hard or nothing – damn well he hits hard. But just like Eddie Hearn was saying, I’m going to get in, I’m going to throw my combinations, I’m going to be fast, explosive, and I feel that right hand in his temple, he’s gonna go down.”
Despite the ordering of the bout, and the fact that both fighters are within the PBC stable, Team Wilder have seemed slightly reluctant. His trainer, Malik Scott, recently said that they would favour a bigger fight with Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk over the Ruiz bout.
With the WBC’s convention taking place this week in Mexico, some clarity is expected for the future of the two former champions.