Andy Ruiz - the second coming of Buster Douglas ?

[SenorPipino]

He did a good job against Joshua Parker and fought in his home.

And Douglas was a big sh.ot against a Tyson out of his prime

Andy worked all the fight and was better in every single aspect.

And he has only 29 years old.

The usual revisionism.

"Tyson was out of his prime."

The tottering old man was a feeble 23 year old when Douglas turned him into sushi in Tokyo.

Some "out of his prime" fighter.

How come Ruiz "has only 29 years old" but a 6 year younger Tyson is ready for the retirement village?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Nothing? His only loss was a controversial decision that could have gone either way or been a draw to Parker, in NZ, and HE TRAINED HIMSELF for that fight.

How did he train himself? Abel trainer him.

[jamamb]

crazy that tyson was just 23 in tokyo, doubt we ever see such a young hw reach that level again...at least not for a loong time

[man]

i was very impressed, because unlike the douglas
situation the champion was on top of his game.

ruiz could have folded after the knock down and
even in the exchange right after, but he refused
to and scored a KD himself seconds later. that is
championship heart.

buster douglas was extremely gifted, but he was
lazy. something tells me ruiz is not. but the physical
disadvantage will keep him from staying on top.

sidenote. him against fury will be the nightmare
for all of sport photography.

[HeavyHitters]

As many noted, Douglas never seemed to be fully vested in boxing, but his career actually is much more impressive than Ruiz's to this point. Wins over Page, Berbick, McCall and Mike Williams make for a much better resume than what Ruiz has so far. And Tyson was an established great when Douglas beat him while Joshua has yet to fully establish his legacy. If he ever really has one.

Agreed! "Buster" was a BEAST that night!!

[Seamus]

Fat guys with quick hands, power and solid chins have been around the HW division for awhile. I don't see Ruiz having a very long title reign due to his weight problems. I think the verdict is still out on whether AJ has the desire he once had. If he's lost it, then he was an accident waiting to happen and Ruiz happened to be in the right place at the right time.

[jamesmcdonnell]

More to the point, why does Ruiz look the way he does? Does that really work for him? I don't see why he couldn't shed a few pounds and remain strong.

Why does it bother you that much? I swear this era of Instagram has absolutely ruined boxing. The all-time greats NEVER looked like bodybuilders and models.

There was plenty of "fat" guys who made good/great fighters look like dogshit. Hell Jack Dempsey's biggest pain in the ass was Willie Meehan who was an out & out dough boy.

Id argue gene tunney was a far bigger pain in the ass.

Ruiz is definitely the fattest heavywright world champ in history.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Ruiz has been a head case too.... it's why top rank dropped him

[tiny_acres]

Ruiz has been a head case too.... it's why top rank dropped him

Can you explain the head case comment please

[Lackeos]

Is he the second coming of Buster Douglas? Or is he the second coming of Hasim Rahman? Or is he the second coming of Jermain Taylor? Or is he the second coming of Antonio Tarver?

[Enlightened-One]

Ruiz has been a head case too.... it's why top rank dropped him

I know for certain that you won't be able to substantiate your allegation about Ruiz Jr. being "a head case" that was "dropped" by Top Rank.

Arum and Ruiz Jr. ended their professional working relationship on good terms.

Andy Ruiz Jr. bought himself out of the remainder of his contract with Top Rank after receiving offers to join DAZN and the PBC.

He did so because there was a distinct lack of heavyweights and career advancement opportunities within Bob Arum’s stable, coupled with the fact he claims he wasn’t being paid his worth.

The Mexican-American joined the PBC because Al Haymon provided the most lucrative offer and had a large stable of heavyweights.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Ruiz had numerous canceled fights with top rank. There are articles about his dedication being questioned and several insiders voiced top ranks frustration with him about his weight and dedication

Arum called him a fat slob.

I'd say that is a lot of circumstantial evidence he was viewed as a head case who lacked dedication

[gilgamesh]

If he comes in way fatter in his next fight, and seems a lot less motivated then maybe. Which is certainly possible.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

If he comes in way fatter in his next fight, and seems a lot less motivated then maybe. Which is certainly possible.

Well he hit the way fatter part...

[Contendeh]

Ruiz is way more fat than Buster ever was.

I don’t think he will stop fighting after he loses tomorrow the way that Buster did after he showed up to lose against Holyfield

[gilgamesh]

If he comes in way fatter in his next fight, and seems a lot less motivated then maybe. Which is certainly possible.

Well he hit the way fatter part...

He did? I thought he had slimmed down. Did he somehow gain a bunch of fat the week of the weigh in?

[gilgamesh]

Ruiz is way more fat than Buster ever was.

I don’t think he will stop fighting after he loses tomorrow the way that Buster did after he showed up to lose against Holyfield

I don't know about that. When Buster retired, and then came out of retirement to get back into somewhat decent shape for his health he was pretty fat.

He had gone into a Diabetic Coma in the inbetween time because of how fat he'd gotten.

[drunkenpiper36]

I don't think so. Even though I happen to think James Douglas was a good fighter even before he met Tyson, Ruiz hasn't had the same career track. With the exception of a contraversial defeat to Parker, he's had a winning career, and appears to have plenty of fight left in him regardless of saturdays outcome.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Well he hit the way fatter part...

He did? I thought he had slimmed down. Did he somehow gain a bunch of fat the week of the weigh in?

The best part is his explanation.... "my clothes were in and i just at3 a drank a lot of water so thats probably the difference"

[gilgamesh]

I don't think so. Even though I happen to think James Douglas was a good fighter even before he met Tyson, Ruiz hasn't had the same career track. With the exception of a contraversial defeat to Parker, he's had a winning career, and appears to have plenty of fight left in him regardless of saturdays outcome.

Like I said when it happened. Beating AJ and getting one of the biggest upsets in the sport certainly since Douglas vs Tyson has pretty much guaranteed him at least 3 more big paydays. I figure even if AJ cleans his clock this time around, just the fact that he beat him once will mean he'll still be a name that the big dogs go after for a little while.

Boxers tend to like to play that game these days. Rather than, hey let me fight the guy that beat Ruiz. They'll think "Hey let me fight Ruiz, and see if I can beat him better"

Or Promoters will at least, but anyway that tends to be the norm these days, and I figure Ruiz will get a fight with either Wilder, Fury, Povetkin, Ortiz...somebody like that in the near future.

Win or Lose.

[margaret thatcher]

Even if Ruiz loses he could still have a lucrative post-AJ career on the PBC circuit

[JxhDel.]

Ruiz's win did not look occasional, rather more of his own merit that night. Also, he slimmed down, just gaining true mass on his upper body.

[margaret thatcher]

Ruiz's win did not look occasional, rather more of his own merit that night. Also, he slimmed down, just gaining true mass on his upper body.

You don't gain 15 pounds of muscle in a couple months via boxing training

[JxhDel.]

Ruiz's win did not look occasional, rather more of his own merit that night. Also, he slimmed down, just gaining true mass on his upper body.

You don't gain 15 pounds of muscle in a couple months via boxing training

Ruiz has some rare genetics, maybe it is due to him switching diet despite eating a lot. Sure he looks trimmed, though.

[margaret thatcher]

You don't gain 15 pounds of muscle in a couple months via boxing training

Ruiz has some rare genetics, maybe it is due to him switching diet despite eating a lot. Sure he looks trimmed, though.

Did you see him with no shirt on?