By: Hans Themistode
Even the most loyal fans of Andy Ruiz Jr are in awe of his choice of opponents.
It was recently revealed that the former unified heavyweight champion will make his first ring appearance of the year before Tyrone Spong. Although the former kickboxing champion hasn’t competed in boxing since 2019, he happily answered the call.
Ruiz Jr. with. Spong is set to take place on July 16 in a home game for Ruiz Jr as the pair are expected to trade against each other in the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City. Despite the breakout development, Ruiz Jr won’t go head to head with Spong. Instead, the Mexican star will face longtime heavyweight contender, Luis Ortiz.
According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, who first reported on the rival switch, Ruiz Jr not only agreed to face Ortiz initially, but he also signed the dotted line before signing on to face Spong .
After coming across the initial news, Ortiz told Ruiz Jr.
“He’s a coward,” Ruiz Jr’s Ortiz said in a recent interview with El Nuevo Herald. “He knew how badly I wanted to fight him but he decided to take the easy route. I repeat, he is a coward.”
With the two now scheduled to go head-to-head in what is likely to be the pay-per-view headliner in August later this year, the two-time challenger for the heavyweight title is lurking.
Even at the age of 43, Ortiz has proven that he not only has the necessary skills to compete with his superiors, but more importantly, desire. During his long and fruitful career, Ortiz suffered only defeats at the hands of Deontay Wilder in both 2018 and 2019. Regardless of his shortcomings, Ortiz is currently on a two-match winning streak.
On the first day of 2022, Ortiz waged an all-out war against the former player, Charles Martin. Although Ortiz was dropped to the frame on two separate occasions, he turned his senior’s game around in the sixth inning, as he will continue to thwart the former IBF jeweler.
Despite the effort to face Spong, the match against Ortiz is more in line with the current ambitions of the Mexican star. Since scoring one of the more surprising wins in recent memory over Anthony Joshua in June 2019, Ruiz Jr will be returning to the ring in significantly worse shape. As a result, Ruiz Jr will lose to Joshua in an immediate rematch.
While Ruiz Jr expressed disappointment, he made a great comeback, winning a broad unanimous decision against longtime fringe candidate Chris Arreola in May 2021. Should Ruiz Jr carry on With his victory, the 32-year-old has stated time and time again that he would love nothing more than to have his waistband wrapped in a championship gold medal.
