Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) will be starting training with his new coach Eddy Reynoso soon for his next fight, possibly against Chris Arreola in November. ESPN is reporting that Ruiz’s dad wants him to fight former heavyweight world title challenger Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs) next.
This could be a risky fight for Ruiz Jr. to take on Arreola because if he loses to him, it’s game over. Arreola is the type of guy that you need to be in top shape to beat him. In Arreola’s loss to Adam Kownacki, he threw 1,125 punches in the 12 round fight. There’s no way Ruiz can match that output.
Team Ruiz wants a tune-up for Andy to get him sharpened up after his loss to Anthony Joshua last December. The former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Ruiz Jr. didn’t come into that fight with Joshua with the right conditioning and the game plan to give himself a fighting chance of winning.
As soon as the word leaked that Joshua was training with former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Ruiz Jr. and his trainer Manny Robles should have known that AJ was going to box in the rematch.
With Reynoso, he’ll make sure that Ruiz comes in shape for his November fight, and has a sound game plan. There shouldn’t be any surprises if Ruiz fights Arreola, as that’s someone that will be coming to go to war. That’s the way Arreola always challenges, and he’s not going to change it at this stage in his career.
Arreola just turned 39 last March, and he lost his previous fight to Adam Kownacki by a 12 round decision last year in August in New York.
It’s questionable whether Ruiz’s management will be able to get Arreola to agree to take the fight. He’s supposed to have retired after his loss to Kownacki. If they can’t get Arreola, then they’ll need to look for another notable guy. Depending on what Team Ruiz is looking for in an opponent, there are a lot of great options for him.
Arreola has a lot of notable guys during his long 17-year professional career. He’s been in with the following guys:
- Vitali Klitschko
- Bermane Stiverne
- Adam Kownacki
- Jameel McCline
- Tomasz Adamek
- Eric Molina
- Deontay Wilder
Arreola lost to Vitali, Wilder, Adamek, and Stiverne. He’s had a pretty good career in terms of fighting a lot of the top-level fighters. If Arreola has decided to retire for good, it’s understandable why. The paydays aren’t good enough for guys that don’t have a chance for a title shot.