Andy Ruiz Jr. says he wants Deontay Wilder to make him another offer, or he’s moving on and fighting someone else. The former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) insists that he never asked for $25 million for a fight with Wilder, but he doesn’t say what he did ask for.
A lot of boxing fans believe Ruiz has gotten lazy after getting two large paydays against Anthony Joshua, which have transformed him into a millionaire and has set him up for life, assuming he doesn’t lose the dough through divorces.
Andy blames his inactivity on personal problems, but fans just see it as another example of a fighter making a boatload of dough and then losing their ambition, buying large homes in upscale neighborhoods and expensive cars as jewelry to show off their newfound wealth. It’s all superficial stuff that is just a dead-end.
Ruiz wants to fight three to four times by next year, and he’d like to face Anthony Joshua in a trilogy match, but he doubts that his promoter, Eddie Hearn, would want to go in that direction.
Ruiz has fought just twice since 2019, with both fights coming against 40+ year-olds Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz. If Ruiz is serious about wanting to fight three to four times in the next year, he’s going to need to get busy because he’s been inactive for the last 13 months, and it would appear that he’s done for 2023.
“I don’t think they want to fight. I think Eddie Hearn is already traumatized. He doesn’t want to match him against anyone good unless he’s trying to get his money and leave,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. to ESNEWS when asked if he’d like to fight Anthony Joshua in a trilogy match.
Ruiz can forget about the British fighter Joshua because he’s focused on easy fights until he gets the cash-out that he’s been waiting for against Tyson Fury. Joshua isn’t going to take a risky fight against a hungry & motivated Ruiz, especially if he’s in shape.
“Of course, I’ll go over there,” said Ruiz on whether he’d be willing to travel to the UK for the trilogy fight with Joshua. “Remember, when I fought him in the ring, I was overweight. I forgot everything that I was doing with the rematch,
“I’ve been stuck on the shelf, hiding myself. A lot of people don’t know the situation I’ve been in and my problems. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come over here to show my faith, and I’m ready to get back in action.
“By next year, I want to fight three or four times. I want to get a fight in. We’re still waiting for Wilder. I’m telling everybody that I never asked for $25 million. That’s bull s**t. Tell him to show me the proof of where I told him that I wanted twenty five million dollars.
“Tell him to make me a different offer, or I’m moving on. That’s it. I’m moving on and going to the next chapter because there’s no point of waiting,” said Ruiz about his message to Deontay.
“Now, it’s a whole different ballgame. Now, all I want to do is show my talent next year, and everybody is going to know who the heck is Andy Ruiz.
“I think [Zhilei] Zhang could beat Joshua for sure.
“Fury, come on,” said Ruiz when asked for his prediction on the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight on October 28th. “He can knock him out. I think Mike Tyson is doing a really good job of training him [Ngannou]. He looks different. I’m sure Mike Tyson is going to give him a good technique,” said Ruiz.
