Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Chris Arreola - May 1, 2021

[candyslim]

That's the beauty of women. My wife doesn't give a stuff about boxing but she'll happily do this for me provided it doesn't become a daily occurrence. I'm careful not to push my luck

[Ruthless-RKO]

Andy Ruiz Was 310 Pounds, Had Depression After Joshua Loss - "I'm Ready To Get My Belts Back"

A re-energized Andy Ruiz Jr. is planning for a major rebound after relinquishing his throne atop the heavyweight division.

The journey will start when Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) next faces Chris Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs) on May 1 on FOX Sports pay-per-view at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

A rotund Ruiz showed up in Saudi Arabia to defend the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO titles he snatched away from Anthony Joshua in December 2019.

The 31-year-old proved to be no match against the more determined British fighter in a landslide unanimous decision loss.

Ruiz weighed 268 pounds when he shocked Joshua for the titles in June 2019 but was 15 pounds heavier just six months later.

Ruiz has been showing more mental and physical resilience in recent months as he tries to work his way back up the heavyweight ladder.

"I must have lost 40 pounds. After my fight against Anthony Joshua and my defeat in Saudi Arabia, I gained to like 310 pounds. I was depressed. I was mad at myself because I knew I should have trained. I knew I should have done better in my last fight. But you know what, it's never too late. Now is the time. Now is the beginning to see the real and new Andy Ruiz Jr.,” the fighter said on his YouTube channel.

“I had everything, the belts, I was on top of the world but I took that sh-- for granted ... I'm ready to get my belts back. All of this hard work and dedication is going to pay off, man. Everyone is going to see the difference. Everyone is going to see the hard work. I'm ready for my next fight. I've been ready and excited. I'm ready to prove everybody wrong. That's what it's all about.”

Ruiz’s fight against the former three-time world title challenger Arreola will be a showdown between two Southern California-based, Mexican-American sons.

Ruiz is from Imperial while Arreola is from Riverside.

After contemplating retirement in recent years, the 40-year-old Arreola is looking for one last hurrah after his spirited decision loss to Adam Kownacki broke multiple CompuBox numbers for a heavyweight fight.

“Arreola is not an easy guy. He's a Mexican warrior like me who loves to throw bombs,” said Ruiz. “He doesn't give up until it's over. So to me, I have to be double in shape. All you can see and expect is fireworks.”

[Syntax Error]

So, has he lost 40 lbs from his Joshua 2 weight, or 40 lbs from his depressed 310 lbs weight?

If it is the latter, then he's right back to square one, practically.

[ironbeard]

Btw for years Ruiz got painted as a total irrelevant joke for beating the type of opponents Ortiz has while the needle loving Ortiz somehow maintained a boogeyman status, if there's a double standard it's that Ortiz could still have had so many of his bois defending him as some massively feared and ducked boogeyman despite spending the last years beating exclusively trash and rejecting big offers to fight dudes he proclaimed he'd face any time, any place, for any money

Even here Ruiz is against the better opponent, Luis's opponent could only manage a split decision vs a 7-27 dude last time

But you know, people keep adding hypothetical wins to Ort's ledger, so why should he even bother to have real fights vs these dudes lol

100% agree.

[USMCer]

This could be Fight of the Year candidate.

[margaret thatcher]

So, has he lost 40 lbs from his Joshua 2 weight, or 40 lbs from his depressed 310 lbs weight?

If it is the latter, then he's right back to square one, practically.

what, are you saying that you wouldnt be turned on by 270 pounds of jiggling mexican love

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Arreola is totally shot. The fact kownacki couldn't stop him tells you how crappy kownacki is

Ruiz will beat him very easily

Ruiz will still be fat

[margaret thatcher]

i bet after the fight they head to a mexican restaurant together and f@cking eat that b!tch up

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

They look like big beer drinkers to me. Ruiz always was a head case and i always took that to mean food and booze

[margaret thatcher]

why just eat when you can eat and drink i guess

i'd hate to share a crapper with either one of them though

[gregregegg]

Imagine Ruiz’s tab after the AJ win, I’m guessing about 50 beers, 50 tacos, 5 burritos, 2 family pizzas, few steaks, a whole chicken and whatever the rest of his crew was eating.

[lazboy]

Imagine Ruiz’s tab after the AJ win, I’m guessing about 50 beers, 50 tacos, 5 burritos, 2 family pizzas, few steaks, a whole chicken and whatever the rest of his crew was eating.

[candyslim]

Btw for years Ruiz got painted as a total irrelevant joke for beating the type of opponents Ortiz has while the needle loving Ortiz somehow maintained a boogeyman status, if there's a double standard it's that Ortiz could still have had so many of his bois defending him as some massively feared and ducked boogeyman despite spending the last years beating exclusively trash and rejecting big offers to fight dudes he proclaimed he'd face any time, any place, for any money

Even here Ruiz is against the better opponent, Luis's opponent could only manage a split decision vs a 7-27 dude last time

But you know, people keep adding hypothetical wins to Ort's ledger, so why should he even bother to have real fights vs these dudes lol

100% agree.

There is some truth in what you say Maggie but I still maintain the fat bloke can fight. He is wasting our time with Chris Nipple though, I want to see him in a proper contest again.

[Finkel]

Press Release | ANDY RUIZ JR. VS. CHRIS ARREOLA SET FOR MAY 1 FOX PPV PRICED AT $49.95

Former unified heavyweight world champion Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz, Jr. will battle all-action heavyweight Chris “The Nightmare’’ Arreola in the main event of an all-Mexican boxing extravaganza on Saturday, May 1 headlining a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

First I read that as Indignity Health Sports Park, and thought, 'yeah sounds about right.'

[Syntax Error]

Imagine Ruiz’s tab after the AJ win, I’m guessing about 50 beers, 50 tacos, 5 burritos, 2 family pizzas, few steaks, a whole chicken and whatever the rest of his crew was eating.

[Syntax Error]

So, has he lost 40 lbs from his Joshua 2 weight, or 40 lbs from his depressed 310 lbs weight?

If it is the latter, then he's right back to square one, practically.

what, are you saying that you wouldnt be turned on by 270 pounds of jiggling mexican love

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ruiz: I Feel Amazing; I Used To Have T-ts That Wouldn’t Let Me Throw The Right Punches

Andy Ruiz Jr. feels like a more diverse, flexible fighter now that he has shed so much weight.

A self-deprecating Ruiz joked during a virtual press conference Tuesday that excess pounds in all the wrong places prevented him from operating at full strength before he started taking conditioning more seriously with new trainer Eddy Reynoso. The former IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion hopes to weigh in at 250 pounds for his fight against Chris Arreola on May 1 in Carson, California.

Ruiz regrettably came in at 283½ pounds for his immediate rematch with Anthony Joshua in December 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The Imperial, California, native weighed 15½ pounds more for their second championship match than for their first fight, when he stopped Joshua in the seventh round to pull off one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.

The 31-year-old Ruiz weighed 305 pounds when he began training with Reynoso last year. The former champion also revealed Tuesday that he got as high as almost 320 pounds following his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Joshua in their rematch.

A rejuvenated Ruiz didn’t reveal his current weight, but he was noticeably slimmer during the press conference to promote his FOX Sports Pay-Per-View main event versus Arreola.

“You know what? I’ve always been overweight,” Ruiz said. “And now that I’ve been dropping weight normally and in the right way – by eating right, not just wearing the sauna suit, starving yourself – because that’s what I used to do back in the day. But now that we’re eating the right things, we’re working on the right things, I feel amazing, man. I can say this – I feel amazing. I could do better stuff that I couldn’t do before because of my big gut. I had chi-chis. I had t-ts that wouldn’t let me throw the right punches and all that. But, you know, now I’m more motivated, I’m more dedicated in this sport and, you know, sky’s the limit.”

Even at 268 pounds, Ruiz’s hand speed and skills enabled him to drop Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) four times, twice apiece in the third and seventh rounds, during their initial meeting in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ruiz weighed 255¾ pounds for the first title fight of his career – a 12-round, majority-decision loss to Joseph Parker (then 21-0) in December 2016 at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) will fight for the first time since he lost to Joshua 15 months ago when he squares off against Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs, 2 NC), of Riverside, California. Their 12-round bout will headline FOX Sports’ four-fight pay-per-view telecast from Dignity Health Sports Park ($49.95).

[Ruthless-RKO]

[funso banjo baby]

This would have been good about 7 years ago

Now they are all slim it's lost its fun factor

[margaret thatcher]

ya, theyre so slim aren't they

[JamesPhilips]

Almost 50 dollars for this? Wasn’t a Canelo fight also $80? Americans get stripped on PPV.

[Enlightened-One]

Almost 50 dollars for this? Wasn’t a Canelo fight also $80? Americans get stripped on PPV.

Arreola and Ruiz Jr. are both durable fleshy Californian-Mexican heavyweights with crowd-pleasing fighting styles.

It's also bout between two hometown fighters, competing in their own backyard, with the vast majority of the men appearing on the fight card either having Mexican blood or speak Spanish.

The fight date is only a few days prior to Cinco de Mayo, which means the PBC are obviously catering for a certain demographic that are very likely willing to pay the $49.95 PPV asking price.

[margaret thatcher]

they are gonna be breaking out some giant sombreros at the press conference and weigh in for sure

[Enlightened-One]

Ruiz will still be fat

Ruiz says he's looking to weigh roughly the same as he did for the Joseph Parker bout.

He's been training hard though, so the excess weight might be distributed slightly more favourably than how he appeared against the Kiwi.

[oogiebe]

they are gonna be breaking out some giant sombreros at the press conference and weigh in for sure

And giant buffets.