Former heavyweight champ Andy Ruiz Jr has his own must-win fight coming up against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, who “The Destroyer” will face on the stacked card set for Los Angeles on August 3rd. But Ruiz is eyeing a massive fight with world heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking with ES News, Ruiz said he is picking Usyk to defeat Fury again in their December 21st rematch. He revealed that he himself has spoken with Usyk, telling the Ukrainian how it would be “amazing” if he got into the ring with the unbeaten southpaw.
“I’m going for Usyk. I’m sure he’ll get it,” Ruiz said when asked who he thinks will win the return battle between Usyk and Fury. “That’s what I told him [Usyk] in Las Vegas. I said, ‘Man, it’ll be amazing if me and you fight,’ but he has to fight Tyson Fury in December. He [Fury] said he could beat me with one hand behind his back. I feel like he’s already gone through a lot of wars, and maybe this will be his last fight.”
Interestingly, Usyk’s co-trainer, Sergey Lapin, recently stated how Usyk will stop Fury in the return fight and that Fury will retire from the sport after being beaten twice in a row by the same man. Now Ruiz is suggesting we could see Fury’s final fight in December. As for Ruiz against Usyk, this fight seems somewhat unlikely, as Usyk has suggested he may drop back down to cruiserweight after he defeats Fury a second time. At the same time, Lapin spoke about the possibility of his fighter going into the cage for a fight or two.
But Ruiz, with those fast hands and his good boxing brain, has shown that, on his best night, he is a real challenge for anyone. How would Usyk deal with Ruiz and those swift hands? Again, the fight may not happen, but in heavyweight boxing, in fact, in any weight division, pretty much any fight can happen these days. But first, Ruiz, 35-2(22), has to take care of Miller next month. At age 34, Ruiz cannot afford a third defeat. Can Ruiz reach the top again, either against Usyk or, more likely, against TBA in a fight for one of Usyk’s vacated titles?
Ruiz, 26-1-1 (22), will be under the microscope in the fight with Miller. Inactive since September 2022, Ruiz had better be in top shape and fully focused for the night of August 3rd.
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