Bandog wrote: ↑10 Jul 2021, 13:06
Syntax Error wrote: ↑09 Jul 2021, 12:21
A pretty interesting fight were it to come off.
I don't know why, but I'm a bit of a fan of Ruiz.
He let himself down big time in the Joshua rematch, but there's no doubt that he can be an exciting fighter with something to offer at the top of the HW contender tree,
My money would be on Ruiz, primarily because Ortiz was born sometime between 1899 - 1933.
I'd be shocked if Ruiz took the fight. If he does, I predict he gets KOd in 5 or 6. If he avoids that, he has a chance to win on points. It's a no win situation for Ruiz.
If it's a no win situation for Ruiz it'll be because most fans recognize there is little credit to be had for beating a guy who sat next to Fidel Castro at school, and you sure as hell don't want to lose to him.
Not long ago I'd have suggested you were nuts if you thought Ruiz was going to get knocked out by an old man on heart medication - You saw what happened when Joshua sat him down with the sweetest right hand/ left hook combination I ever saw AJ deliver? He looked a bit shocked, got to his feet, and proceeded to beat the crap out of the unified champion. I'll let you off though because for whatever reason Ruiz looked distinctly vulnerable in the opening rounds against Arreola so your comment doesn't look so daft.
I know you Wilder fans have to sing the praises of Luis Ortiz because if he isn't a (former) top drawer fighter then Wilder has never beaten one, but the fact remains that the best fighter Ortiz ever beat (Bryant Jennings) was also beaten by the likes of Joe Joyce and Oscar Rivas. I mean he also beat Tony Thompson which was fairly respectable but that was nine years ago when Ortiz was middle-aged.
Personally I'd be shocked if Ortiz took the fight. Ruiz only took the Joshua fight after Ortiz turned down an offer of 7 million dollars (I think his highest payday up until then had been 0.5) and he's turned down offers to fight Dillian Whyte on three occasions (so I've heard - can't confirm). Ruiz went all the way to the land of orcs and elves (oh and sheep mustn't forget the sheep) in order to take Joe Parker to a highly disputed decision so he doesn't lack bottle (that's 'heart' to you foreign types)
We know Ortiz is blowing out of his arse by round 6 or 7. I'd expect Ruiz to stop him anytime after that unless his punch resistance really has gone - permanently.