Seven months after their fight was ordered, Andy Ruiz Jr and Deontay Wilder may finally be taking steps to make it happen.
Wilder and Ruiz are number one and number two ranked contenders in the WBC respectively, and they were told back in November of 2022 by the sanctioning body to battle it out for the right to a shot at champion Tyson Fury.
Despite that clear path to glory for the former title holders, talks barely progressed. Wilder’s team were open about wanting a ‘bigger fight’ whilst Ruiz seemed keen, but was drawn away by a potential fight with Fury directly.
With that off the table and Wilder looking to get active before facing Anthony Joshua later in the year, the fight now looks as likely as ever.
Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, recently told ES News that it was one of their ‘main options.’
“That’s the buzz fight right now and it’s looking like that might be the route we end up going.
Deontay is in the position where so many big fights are lined up that any thing or any opponent can possibly change. Andy Ruiz is definitely one of the main options right now and we’ll see where it lands at.
In my opinion I’d like to see it at the crypto centre and I like Vegas.”
Ruiz has now responded, confirming his interest in the contest by sharing the story on his Instagram with the caption ‘Let’s go!”
Should the two heavyweights fight, it will mark the first action for Ruiz since September – a decision win over Luis Ortiz – and Wilder since October, who didn’t gain any rounds from his knockout of Robert Helenius inside three minutes.
Whilst no date has been confirmed, Wilder himself has said August or no later than September, which lines up well with his proposed fight with Joshua, who is expected out on August 12 in the UK.