By: Hans Themistode
In just over a month, Andy Ruiz Jr. will find out if the monotonous training he has done with new trainer Eddy Reynoso will yield winning results. The former unified heavyweight champion is set to take on fringe contender Chris Arreola on April 24th.
While he’s focused on Arreola and jumping back into the win column, Ruiz Jr. can see an even bigger fight taking place in his peripheral vision.
“I would love to fight (Deontay) Wilder and Tyson Fury,” said Ruiz Jr. during an interview with Little Giant Boxing. “Everybody has been talking about those fight.”
First things first, however, Ruiz Jr. must take care of business against Arreola. Provided he do just that, the Mexican native will sit back and weigh his options. Although a matchup with either the hard-hitting former WBC belt holder in Deontay Wilder would draw plenty of attention, so would a showdown against current titlist Tyson Fury.
Choosing between them ultimately comes down to who can provide him with the final piece to his championship puzzle. Having held almost every world title following his upset win over Anthony Joshua in June of 2019, Ruiz Jr.’s title reign was quickly truncated in their immediate rematch. But while he isn’t a current champion, he still has the WBO, WBA and IBF titles in his trophy room in his palatial estate. The only thing missing from his collection is the WBC title.
That in turn, makes picking his next opponent an easy choice to make.
“I want that green belt. I have all the belts but that belt, I’m missing that one. I know Anthony Joshua is going to fight Tyson Fury but I need that belt baby.”
As bad as he wants to complete his collection, Ruiz Jr. doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself. When last seen, Ruiz Jr. was getting dominated by Joshua as his championship status fattened his bank account and made him listless and took away his work ethic.
He’s since parted ways with former trainer Manny Robles and ventured under the wing of Eddy Reynoso. By all accounts, their partnership appears to be working but with their first official fight together just around the corner, the jury is still out on whether or not their relationship will prove to be a sagacious one for Ruiz Jr.
With that said, the former heavyweight titlist is supremely confident that Reynoso is the right man in his corner and with his guidance, he believes the sky is the limit.
“After Arreola, I want to keep fighting and training to look better and better.”