By: Sean Crose
Both Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz had plenty of experience during their ring shows Sunday night at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. Former multi-title player Ruiz wants to once again be seen as a serious player in the heavyweight division. Ortiz, on the other hand, wants to STILL be seen as a serious player in heavyweight. It’s each boxer’s sinking or swimming moment, which adds an air of tension to the whole process.
It looks like Ruiz might have had a slight edge in the opening round. His hand speed simply seems superior to anything Ortiz has to offer. At the end of the round, however, Ortiz faltered his man. The second round was, to be honest, explosive. Ruiz, lightning fast and powerful behind him, knocked Ortiz down not once but twice. However, before the round was over, Ortiz was still standing and unleashing powerful shots of his own.
The third round was slower than the first, but Ortiz was able to put his shot to good use. Ortiz wisely decided to keep his distance in the fourth inning, largely keeping Ruiz from plunging at him with the explosive speed he recorded. By season five, the fight had turned from a slug festival to a boxing match. Ortiz lightly delivered his stab while keeping Ruiz – for the most part. Ruiz can still have his moments.
There was some booing in the crowd during the sixth inning, when Ruiz was hurling explosive bursts at Ortiz, but those bursts were too few and too far away. Everything turned around in season seven. Ortiz was dominating what turned into a very slow skirmish, as Ruiz assisted him with a body shot. Seconds later, Ruiz successfully approached Ortiz and placed him on the carpet again. Needless to say, Ortiz stood up and the bell rang for the end of the round later.
In recognition of his merits, Ortiz was then largely able to pass the 1/8 round successfully. Ruiz continued to attack the body strongly in the ninth. However, Ortiz could have used his stab effectively enough to get the round. Ruiz was largely inactive in tenth. Did he run out of gas? If it had been him, no one would have known that from watching the eleventh inning, as Ruiz had shaken Ortiz once more, causing the big man to stumble. Ortiz survived the round, but simply took too much damage to win the skirmish, except for one highly unlikely event. Ortiz unloads his arsenal on the final round, while Ruiz is able to land himself a few times.
Suffice it to say, the referees awarded Ruiz a UD win.
“You think I’m done?” Ortiz asked eloquently when asked if he was going to hang up his gloves. “What do people want?” The crowd cheered loudly, answering his question. “He was a fighter, he hit really hard and I think I did a good job,” Ruiz said. “I just want to thank God so much.” Ruiz was then questioned about his future. “Let’s do it!” he said when asked if he would fight Deontay Wilder. “Let’s start!”
“We can go on,” Wilder said, after stepping into the ring and praising his friend Ortiz.
