The entire boxing world will be watching when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk finally step into the ring for the first undisputed world heavyweight title fight in some 24 years – and Andy Ruiz Jr thinks he knows how it will go.
Ruiz is a former unified world champion himself having beaten Anthony Joshua back in June 2019 in one of boxing’s biggest recent upsets.
Ruiz failed to double down on his success, however, and came in hugely overweight for the rematch in Jeddah in December of the same year. He lost the majority of the rounds as Joshua regained his titles with a unanimous points decision.
Since then, Ruiz has beaten Luis Ortiz and Chris Arreola, and has long been in discussions with Deontay Wilder for a huge showdown, though the fight is yet to materialise.
In a recently resurfaced interview with Fight Hub TV, Ruiz predicted that the size and reach of Fury will be the decisive factor against Usyk.
“It will be an amazing fight. I think Fury has a lot of experience and I think the reach will get [Usyk] but anything is possible in boxing, especially in the heavyweight division.”
The interviewer then suggested he thinks Ruiz might be Fury’s kryptonite.
“Yeah that would be a beautiful fight man between me and him. I’ve got a lotta respect for him.”
Whilst both teams have confirmed that the contracts have been signed, no formal date or venue has been announced for the fight, with WBC king Fury first having to deal with former MMA champion Francis Ngannou in their 10 round contest in Riyadh on October 28.