Andy Ruiz Jr. evidently has replaced fat with muscle.
The former heavyweight titleholder on Saturday weighed in at 269 pounds for his pay-per-view fight against Luis Ortiz on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Ortiz weighed 245.5.
Ruiz’s slimmed down belly is an indication that he has trained diligently. However, his weight is one pound more than he weighed for his upset knockout of Anthony Joshua in 2019, when he looked a lot chubbier.
He weighed 256 for his last fight, a decision over Chris Arreola in May of last year, but he now looks trimmer at his waistline and more muscular overall.
Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) said during the lead-up to Sunday’s fight that he was focused on building strength, not aesthetics.
Ortiz’s weight is a career high but only 2¼ pounds more than he weighed for his most recent fight, a sixth-round knockout of Charles Martin this past January.
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