Reynoso says there is one key difference between training middleweights and training heavyweights. “I didn’t prepare how I should have,” said Ruiz, who lost by unanimous decision. One British boxing writer noted that “while Joshua sported a six-pack, his opponent appeared to have consumed one.” Joshua danced around the ring, landing speedy hooks and jabs while avoiding trading big blows with the comparably sluggish Ruiz, who was unable to throw his trademark combinations. And by the time his December 2019 rematch with Joshua in Saudi Arabia rolled around, Ruiz rolled into the ring at 284 pounds, 16 pounds heavier than he had been in their first fight. He partied hard, drinking and eating to excess.
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Ruiz bought a garage full of luxury cars–a Mercedes, two Rolls Royces, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Porsche. But the success went directly to Ruiz’s head, and to his waistline. It was a victory for the underdog and the doughy dad-bod–Ruiz and wife Julie have five children-and it was a dream come true. Ruiz, born in Imperial, CA, to Mexican parents, was the first boxer of Mexican descent to become the heavyweight champ.
He called Ruiz “the epitome of ‘don’t judge a book by his cover.’” “This is a surprise to boxing fans and the world,” said boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, commenting ringside. But Ruiz moved well and punched hard, dropping the Brit to the canvas four times en-route to a stunning seventh-round TKO and one of biggest boxing upsets in recent memory. At a paunchy 268 pounds, Ruiz looked out of his league alongside the chiseled Joshua, who was a 1-25 favorite. The deal was done, and on June 1, 2019, Ruiz stepped into the ring against the undefeated Joshua at Madison Square Garden with four title belts on the line. At that point, Hearn reached out to Ruiz Jr., who had just beaten German heavyweight Alexander Dimitrenko on Apand said after the fight that, if given the opportunity to fight Joshua on short-notice, he’d go immediately back into camp to prepare. A half dozen marquee fighters showed interest, but all of them wanted a big paycheck, including Cuban heavyweight Luis Ortiz whose manager declined Hearn’s offer of $7 million. In mid-April of 2019, just seven weeks ahead of a heavyweight title fight with unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua of the UK, American challenger Jarrell Miller had failed multiple drug tests and was pulled from the fight.įight promoter Eddie Hearn needed a qualified and legitimate opponent for Joshua, and he needed one as soon as possible. It sounds overly simple, but the next day, Ruiz had a plan, and he was putting it into action. The next day, all the temptations went away, my mind focused and I knew what I wanted and needed to do.” “I prayed to God to forgive me for the things I’ve done, and to give me the strength to change.
“I was so depressed and tired of the way I was living,” Ruiz says. Kneeling by the side of his bed, he asked God to show him the light. In the span of a little over a year, he’d gone from extreme underdog to unified heavyweight champion, only to lose the title in an equally spectacular moment of self-destruction that kept on spiraling. It began last spring with Ruiz, lost, despondent and tipping the scales at 310 pounds.
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