Andy Ruiz Jr. has secured his next fight. Boxing insider Mike Coppinger has reported that the former heavyweight champion will share the ring with former heavyweight title challenger Luis Ortiz this summer. A date and venue have yet to be determined for the fight.
Ruiz Jr. was originally scheduled to fight Tyrone Spong on July 16, 2022. However, reports suggest that Ruiz Jr. signed a contract to fight Ortiz before finalizing a deal with Spong and Triller. Moving forward, it appears that the former heavyweight champion is looking to fulfill all of his contractual duties.
“We are working amicably with PBC to make sure Ruiz honors his obligations to both parties. Had we known PBC intended to fight him prior, we would have never chosen this date,” Triller Fight Club President David Tetreault told Coppinger.
“We enjoy a good relationship with PBC and we are currently working to identify an optimal date for rescheduling the fight. The date Triller lands on will be in collaboration with PBC and their calendar.”
Ruiz Jr. has been fairly inactive since losing the heavyweight title in December 2019 to Anthony Joshua. He earned a unanimous decision victory against Chris Arreola in May 2021. However, Ortiz has not been much more active either. Since December 2019, he’s only fought twice. He earned a first-round knockout against Alexander Flores in November 2020 and he scored a sixth-round TKO against Charles Martin in January 2022. At 43 years old, Ortiz is hoping to earn one more title shot before being forced out of the heavyweight picture. Meanwhile, Ruiz Jr. is looking to become the first fighter of Mexican descent to win the heavyweight title twice.
