Andy Ruiz and Jarrell Miller made their grand arrivals today in Los Angeles for their heavyweight clash this Saturday night at the BMO Stadium. The two oversized heavyweights will fight live on DAZN PPV in the Riyadh Season event.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Miller towered over Ruiz during their face-off, looking lean and mean. Ruiz tried to get a smile out of Miller by pretending he was going to throw punches, but it didn’t harden the New Yorker’s stare. He clearly wants this win.
Miller’s Physical Transformation
What’s surprising is Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs) looked in better shape than Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs). In Miller’s previous fight last December, he weighed in at 333 lbs for his fight against Daniel Dubois and looked in terrible shape. He appears to have lost all weight and was firmer than Ruiz.
This is a fight that neither fighter can afford to lose if they want to work their way into a world title picture before they age out. Former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz has designs for fighting Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Joseph Parker. He can forget about that if he loses to Miller on Saturday.
That could make things interesting because when Miller was at his best from 2016 to 2018, he was an exceptional fighter.
“He took a beating from Dubois, a good puncher from Dubois,” said Teddy Altas on his YouTube channel, discussing Jarrell Miller’s recent fight against Daniel Dubois last December.
Ruiz’s Inconsistent Form and Inactivity
“Ruiz, when is he going to get in shape? He’s always heavy and looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
“I like Ruiz. He’s a good fighter. He can punch and has good hand speed. He’s had his ups and downs in fights that he didn’t look good in. He’s not used up and looks like he’s in shape. More importantly, he looked like he was mentally in shape,” said Atlas.
Ruiz doesn’t look in great shape, judging by his appearance today during his grand arrival in Los Angeles. Given that he’s been inactive for two years, it’s impossible to know what Ruiz has left. Ruiz has fought twice in the last five years, beating a pair of 40+ year-olds.
The Importance of a Stoppage Victory for Ruiz
“He understands what this opportunity is for him in this life. I like Ruiz in this fight. He needs to stop Miller because Dubois did. Can you outdo Dubois? Can you stop Miller earlier than Miller? If you do that, you’re going to get people’s attention,” said Atlas.
Ruiz hasn’t done much with his career besides getting lucky against Anthony Joshua and beating a handful of fringe contenders. When Joshua’s name is removed from Ruz’s resume, there’s not much there.
Dubois is 26 years old, active, and coming off wins over Filip Hrgovic and Miller. Ruiz is nearing 35, hasn’t fought in two years, and looked poor in his last three fights against Luis Ortiz, Chris Arreola, and Anthony Joshua.
If Ruiz does win on Saturday night, he likely won’t do a better job against Miller than Dubois because of his age, inactivity, and three consecutive lackluster performances.
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