Andy Ruiz Jr. won’t make the same mistake Anthony Joshua made before their first fight.
The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion repeatedly has been asked during this three-day, three-country press tour to discuss potential future fights against Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. Ruiz would love to fight the winner of their rematch, but he won’t even discuss those possibilities until after his immediate rematch with Joshua on December 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
“That would be awesome, but first I wanna focus on Joshua,” Ruiz said following a press conference Thursday in Manhattan. “I don’t wanna talk about another fighter and this and that. My eyes are on the prize and on him, because this is a really serious fight. He wants his belts back, and my job is not to give them to him. I don’t wanna give it to him, man. A lot of people are saying about 15 minutes of fame. F*ck that. I’m gonna train hella hard and I’m gonna win.”
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Joshua admits he was distracted before boxing Ruiz by constant talk of what was a highly anticipated showdown with Wilder. The former champion answered countless questions during the buildup toward the Ruiz fight about previous Wilder negotiations, why Wilder turned down a four-fight, $120 million contract offer from DAZN and what it would take for them to finally fight.
The British superstar would have to defeat Ruiz impressively in their rematch to revive significant interest in the Wilder fight. The 29-year-old Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) is consistently listed as a 3-1 favorite over Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), even though Ruiz knocked him down four times and stopped him in the seventh round June 1 at Madison Square Garden.
If Joshua wins their rematch, Wilder also would have to get through two challenging rematches if a fight with Joshua is to become a realistic possibility again.
Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is expected to face Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) in a rematch for Wilder’s WBC championship November 23 in Las Vegas. If Wilder wins, he’ll fight Fury in another rematch that tentatively has been scheduled for February 22.
England’s Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) also must defeat Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs, 1 NC) on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to remain in position for his own rematch with Wilder.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
