Building a Case for Andy Ruiz

Overheard at the Mayweather Gym: “I like Andy Ruiz’s chances. I like them a lot. I’ve got two dimes (that’s $2000) riding on over six-and-a-half rounds.”

When I’m at a loss for a story idea — mindful that fresh content is the marrow that keeps a web site vibrant — I’m inclined to head over to the Mayweather Gym and become a fly on the wall. The facility, which sits on the fringe of the city’s sprawling Chinatown district, has become something of an institution, at least within the global boxing community. Many important fighters from overseas have come through the door, either to train there or just to give the place a look-over while they are in town. Tourists sometimes drop by too in hopes of capturing a selfie with MoneyMay himself who is hardly ever there. Plus, it’s no hardship for this reporter to visit the gym as it sits less than three miles from my house.

I did not recognize the person touting Andy Ruiz so enthusiastically but immediately sensed that here was the gist of a good story and engaged him in conversation. It turned out that he was quite familiar with the fellow who will be fighting Anthony Joshua on Saturday. He had sparred with Ruiz on three separate occasions.

A phone interview was arranged, but after it was completed my quarry had second thoughts and asked that I kill the story; he did not want to be identified. Previous articles about him hadn’t come out the way he had hoped, perhaps he was misquoted, and he had become distrustful of reporters. It’s a common syndrome.

I respect his wish for anonymity but I won’t kill the story. Let’s just say, as a point of reference, that the person with whom I spoke, a man in his late twenties, shared the ring with several notables during his amateur days and had a very brief pro career. In addition to Ruiz, he has sparred with several other well- known heavyweights.

“No one ever hit me as hard as Andy Ruiz,” he told me. Elaborating on Ruiz’s strengths, he said that Ruiz has great hand speed and that although he doesn’t have great head movement, he’s yet very evasive. He noted that Ruiz has never been knocked down and that, like many Mexican fighters, he punches well to the body. “His body shots,” he said, “will be big factor against Anthony Joshua.”

To illustrate Ruiz’s power, he referenced a fight in Macau against an opponent whose name he did not remember (that would be Joe Hanks who Ruiz knocked out on July 27, 2013). His other observations were consistent with what has been written about the man that many are calling Anthony Joshua’s next victim, as if the odds against him are reliable and the outcome of the bout is a foregone conclusion.

Andy Ruiz

Ruiz (32-1, 21 KOs) grew up in Imperial, California, his birthplace, and also across the border in Mexicali where his grandfather once owned a boxing gym. He was associated with Top Rank throughout most of his pro career but had wangled out of that contract and was in the services of Al Haymon for his last engagement, a fifth round stoppage of Alexander Dimitrenko. This was his first bout where he was trained by Manny Robles. For his biggest fight, against Joseph Parker, he was trained by Abel Sanchez at Sanchez’s compound in Big Bear, California.

He fought Parker on Parker’s turf in New Zealand in a match contested for the vacant WBO heavyweight title. More than a few ringsiders, including the president of New Zealand’s Professional Boxing Association, thought that Ruiz did enough to win that fight and one of the judges had it a draw. It remains his only loss.

In the past, Ruiz, who began his pro career at a puffy 298 pounds, has been faulted for a lack of commitment to boxing. He’s had a tendency to balloon up in weight between fights. But that shouldn’t be the case against Joshua as he had barely a full week off after defeating Dimitrenko before he was back in the gym.

While our unidentified interview subject has sparred with several well-known heavyweights, he has never traded punches with a current champion, a man as formidable as Anthony Joshua. Had he done so, perhaps the sting and the thud of Andy Ruiz’s punches wouldn’t stand out so clearly in his memory; they would pale by comparison. But give him credit. He’s walked the walk, not just talked the talk, by which we mean he’s had the gumption to put his money where his mouth is.

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