Roy Jones Jr has offered his prediction for Deontay Wilder’s final eliminator against Andy Ruiz, should both men agree for it to take place.
As the World Boxing Council’s number one and number two heavyweights, Wilder and Ruiz have been ordered to fight to determine who’s next in line for a shot at Tyson Fury’s title.
‘RJJ’ – a former heavyweight champ himself, as well as three other weight divisions – fancies Wilder to take the victory if the fight goes ahead, but doesn’t count out the Mexican.
He told IFL TV how he would like it to play out, and what fights he wanted to see thereafter.
“In the heavyweight division, any top two names can be a good fight. I think Wilder has to get by Ruiz first. I think he’ll beat Ruiz, but Ruiz is a tough character too. Now once again, anybody can win.
That being said, if he gets past Ruiz, it would be a good fight to see him fight Joshua because Ruiz beat Joshua, Joshua beat Ruiz. So you [Wilder] beat Ruiz, now we see who’s the best out of you two.
The winner of that fight will be ready for the winner of the Usyk-Fury fight. It’s a great division, lot of great activity right now – can’t wait to see it unfold.”
Many fans will agree with Jones in the way he’d like to see the division play out. Wilder’s power against the speed and counter punching of Ruiz is a match up of particular intrigue to American fans, and, with both men under the PBC promotional banner, should be easy to make.
With that said, and despite the WBC’s order, Wilder’s team have attempted to open discussions with another former champion in Anthony Joshua. Another tasty match up, but one that’s historically struggled to be made.
With the belts looking like they’ll be tied up for the first part of 2023 via a Fury and Oleksandr Usyk undisputed fight, fans will be eager to hear some announcements soon about the movements of these other contenders.