Andy Ruiz Jr. promised he’d be back. Fulfilling that promise figures to be long and difficult. But the task looks to be underway.
Ruiz is back at work, just six weeks after his rematch loss to Anthony Joshua Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia.
Ruiz posted photos and video of his return to the gym four days ago on Instagram, saying “The journey back is going to be sweet. Back to basics.’’
An embarrassing loss by a one-sided decision in Diriyah left lots of doubt about what’s next for Ruiz, the first fighter of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight title with a stunning seventh-round stoppage of Joshua on June 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
For the rematch, he admitted he had partied more than he had trained. He apologized. Now it looks as if he has gone to work at doing more than just saying sorry.
He’s also been given some motivation from promoter Eddie Hearn, who reportedly has offered Ruiz (33-2, 20 KOs) a seven-figure purse to fight Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) March 28 in the U.K. on DAZN.
Two days after Hearn’s offer was reported, Ruiz was back in the gym, looking as if he might have shed some of the 283.7 pounds he carried into the ring for the Joshua rematch. Hard to tell. There were reports – and probably a few photo-shopped pictures — of a new, slimmed down version of Ruiz before he came in for the rematch looking more obese than chubby. But it’s a beginning.