Boxing
ANDY RUIZ OPENS UP ON HIS HIDDEN BOXING CAREER
RIYADH: Andy Ruiz has spent his entire life in boxing as an outsider. “Six years old,” the Mexican-American fighter replied when asked about his first time stepping into the ring.
“My first amateur fight I was 7 years old. That was in San Diego, California. And I lost, too. I was 7 years old weighing more than all the other 7-year-olds, so my dad had brought this other guy who was 12 years old because he was bigger. It was a hell of a fight, and I actually still have that videotape,” said Ruiz, now 30.
“My whole life I’ve been fighting big guys. I feel that’s where I got the experience, and I just thank my dad for always pushing me,” he said.
“Even when I didn’t want to box anymore, he’d drag me out of my room to train, saying, ‘you’re going to do something.’ That’s exactly what has happened,” he said.
“My dad had confidence in me since I was a little kid. He’d always tell me, ‘You know what? You’re going to beat him’,” Ruiz added.
“The main thing he’d tell me was not to be scared … because we’re all the same, all flesh and blood. Just go in there fearless, do what I do best, and let my hands go.”
To say Ruiz was considered the underdog going into June’s heavyweight world title fight against the poster-boy of modern boxing, Anthony Joshua, would be a fair assessment.
Ruiz had had a month’s notice, had fought less than a month and a half earlier, and was viewed by many as unfit and out of shape.
As the world would later find out, such narrow-eyed judgment of his shape and build was flawed.
While the great and good of the boxing world questioned what errors had led to the ripped, 1.98-meter-tall Joshua being beaten in the seventh round by a “tubby” fighter almost 20 cm shorter, Ruiz was celebrating a job incredibly well done.
“I think those were the doubters wondering, ‘what has happened to Anthony Joshua? There’s something wrong with him’,” said Ruiz.
“But truly I think it was my style, the way I handled him, and that I took his punches. He gave me the hardest punches he has and I ate them,” he added.
“We watched it a lot (since) to correct the mistakes I did and see the things I needed to do more,” Ruiz said.
“I think I lacked the pressure. The fight could’ve been over sooner, but I think I let it slide a little bit,” he added.
“They (people) look at me now and are like, ‘man, if Andy Ruiz did it, I could do it.’ I’ve got to motivate people and let them know that everything is possible, but you’ve got to train hard, you’ve got to work hard.”
This weekend, the two men go toe-to-toe again in the eagerly awaited “Clash On The Dunes,” presented by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and taking place in Diriyah near Riyadh.
Fan demand is huge, forcing fight organizers to release this week another phase of tickets, starting at SR999 ($266).
Fight week usually pops and crackles with insults traded and rising tensions between the fighters.
But the buildup to the jewel in the crown of the first-ever Diriyah Season festival has again proven how this boxing maverick moves differently than many of the biggest names in the sport, past and present.
“I don’t think there’s a reason to be trash-talking each other. I know that’s what the fans and everybody else want to see, but that’s not how my mum raised me,” said Ruiz.
“I think I’m a different fighter from everybody else. I have respect for all the fighters. If I saw AJ (Joshua) right now I’d shake his hand and tell him, ‘How you doing? Good luck for Dec. 7 — best man wins’.”
Many hearing Ruiz say that might wonder how a boxer preparing to, in his own words, “go to war” with his opponent in only a few days’ time can be so jovial and warm toward his rival ahead of the biggest fight of his career. It is certainly a unique stance, but so is Ruiz.
June’s fight earned him a rumored $7 million. For Saturday’s rematch he will earn a lot more. Do the niceties toward Joshua derive from the fact that the big-reaching Brit changed Ruiz’s life, making him an overnight multimillionaire when they first met?
“Exactly,” was Ruiz’s quick response. “I respect the guy. I respect any fighter who jumps in the ring because we all risk our lives to feed our families. This is our job. Of course I respect the man.”
Since that night in New York’s Madison Square Garden, everything has changed for Ruiz. He has vast wealth, and is having to adapt to his newfound global celebrity.
Asked how life has been treating him since then, he said: “Really well, a bit overwhelming at times but this is what I dreamed for, this is what I’ve been working hard for, this is what I’ve been training for since I was 6 years old.”
He added: “It’s not just great for me but it’s great for my family, my kids. Our whole lives have changed after June 1.”
His craziest big-money buys since then? “Probably all the cars I’ve bought. Four cars already. Two different (Mercedes) G-Wagons, the brand-new Rolls Royce, the Lamborghini truck. I bought my mum and dad a truck. Just having fun.”
Fun is fun, and even so close to such an epic boxing occasion, Ruiz manages to laugh and share a joke with those around him.
He and Joshua both arrived in Saudi Arabia last week, with the American’s 8,000-mile trip definitely the more arduous of the two.
Asked how he plans to beat Joshua for the second time in seven months, Ruiz said: “I know he’s going to try and be boxing me around. I think that’s why he lost some weight, trying to keep me out with the jab, and that’s exactly what we’ve been practicing.”
He added: “That’s how we’re planning and exactly how we’ve been training: Being small, being more slick, owning the pressure, throwing the combinations, me being first.”
Ruiz said: “I think he’s still going to be boxing around four or five rounds until I bring the pressure and start working the body.”
-ArabNews
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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