Boxing
REVEALED! ANDY RUIZ LIVES LUXURIOUS LIFE AFTER SENSATIONAL DEFEAT OF ANTHONY JOSHUA
It was a dramatic transformation for Mexican-American, Andy Ruiz Jr when he beat Anthony Joshua last June to claim four world boxing heavyweight titles.
According to Daily Mail, Ruiz Jr in his first moments of ecstasy shouted from inside the ropes at New York’s Madison Square Garden: ‘Mum, we don’t have to struggle any more.’
Senora Ruiz was wreathed in smiles as she waved back from ringside. Not only had her chubby kid, as he calls himself, rubber stamped his first five million but she and most of their many relatives had snaffled $10,000 each by backing him at 11-1.
The journey from a dusty border town to the wealth, which comes with being the first world heavyweight champion of Mexican origin was complete. Almost.
All that remained was a car ride. As soon as he arrived back home in Imperial in southern Californian he borrowed a flash convertible and drove down the main street through cheering crowds.
Back in his home town of Imperial, Ruiz was paraded through the streets to cheering crowds
A few days later
he went out and bought his own high-class means of transport. A white Rolls
Bentley.
Ruiz went out and bought his own high-class means of transport – a white Rolls Bentley
Cars are the status symbol of choice on both sides of the divide between Mexico and its economically distant neighbour. Ruiz also has a Porsche Panamera in his growing collection.
Those vehicles are
garaged now in the sprawling hacienda he has bought in mesquite scrubland on
the edge of town.
Ruiz’s new home includes a pool amid fountains along with tennis and basketball courts
No doubt his father advised him on the purchase. Andy Sr, a construction worker when he and his wife first immigrated to the US where Ruiz was born, has since bettered himself by ‘flipping’ houses.
That is the American term for buying properties and selling them on for a quick profit.
The 30-year-old Andy Jr’s new home includes the obligatory pool amid sparkling fountains along with tennis and basketball courts.
As well as more
than enough bedrooms to accommodate himself his wife and their five children in
addition to any friends and family wanting to stay over.
Ruiz visited the Mexican president’s residence, Los Pinos, to show off his four titles
He has also taken to giving tours of the estate to townsfolk who drive out to see how their hero is getting along. Luxurious his accommodations may be but this is not a champion who lives in an ivory tower.
Ruiz is a man of the people. In his heart, the Mexican people. Although grateful for all that America has given himself and his folks, it was the Mexican president’s residence, Los Pinos, to which he took his recently acquired WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts. Not the White House.
And although his dual citizenship is enhancing his earning power it is his fellow Mexicans to whom he is promising he will ‘do everything humanly possible to keep those belts for our country’ come Saturday’s rematch with Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
That has included improving his diet for the last three of the six months since he upended Joshua four times in seven rounds.
Although Ruiz still resembles that portly figure who shocked the world having been bred from boyhood on Snickers bars and such delicacies as his mother’s pollo mole, a traditional dish of roast chicken smothered in fiery chocolate.
So ‘chubby’ was he as a boy that his nickname’ Destroyer’ was given to him by his father not for the boxing for which he took this hyper lad to the gym at the age of six but because of the way he blundered about the house like a young bull smashing the china.
In fact, despite the knocking over of Joshua and a majority of his 34 opponents, that ring pseudonym belies the slickest of heavyweight fighting styles. He is surprisingly quick on his feet and even faster with his fists as he lets fly with rapid-fire combinations.
Even his record is slightly deceptive. The one defeat was recorded in his only previous world title fight but most observers believe he was robbed by scandalous hometown scoring in New Zealand in favour of Joseph Parker.
Ruiz left nothing to chance against Joshua and is so confident of doing so again that he risked inflaming our AJ’s wrath by accusing him to his face on television of quitting in the first fight.
The ultimate boxing insult, even though he said it with the smile, which typifies the sunny nature of this happy man.
Andy Ruiz is enjoying himself and expects to do so again in the extraordinary temporary arena erected by the Saudis in double-quick time for the rematch beside the ancient ruins of historic Diriyah.
We will see what Anthony Joshua has to say about that.
Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost closed.
Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.
“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.
The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.
For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable watch that could have been stopped earlier.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.
He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash knockdown’, almost with the opening bell still sounding.
Dubois was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ropes.
The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but refused to give up.
His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet and fighting on instinct.
“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.
“They were getting hit with bombs that would take people out, and they stood it.”
-Reuters
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World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash later this year and has been helping him with his game plan.
Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months and said he has been impressed by the Briton’s development.
He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after changing his approach.
“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.
“I like Fury, he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”
Joshua, a former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since a car accident last December in which two close friends were killed.
Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has focused on technical and mental preparation.
“We speak about strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he said.
The Ukrainian is set to defend his world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.
-Reuters
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- Summary
- *Joshua to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh after car accident hiatus
- *Fight marks start of Joshua’s multi-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, announced by Turki Alalshikh
- *Promoter Hearn says Joshua vs Fury is signed for later in the year
Former world heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed up for a long-awaited clash later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
The announcement came after confirmation that Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in the Briton’s first fight since he was in a car accident last December that killed two close friends.
U.S.-based Albanian Prenga, 35, is a former kickboxer with a ring record of 20 wins and one defeat since he turned professional in 2016.
The fight, billed as “The Comeback”, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
Turki also posted on X a message “to my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed” while his Ring Magazine said the fight would happen in Q4 2026 on Netflix.
SIXTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Joshua, 36, has a record of 28 wins and four losses with his most recent fight a sixth-round knockout of American Jake Paul on December 19 in Miami.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua.
“I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Hearn told Sky Sports television he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Fury called for a showdown with Joshua after he outclassed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
“Next, I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain,” he said then.
-Reuters
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