Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. hasn’t given up on his hopes of landing a fight against Deontay Wilder next, but he wants $10 million to make it happen.
It’s been a bad year for Ruiz, who has priced himself out of fights against Wilder and Tyson Fury. Ruiz reportedly wanted $20 million for the Fury fight, which would never happen.
If Ruiz is going to fight this year for a decent payday, he’s going to need to face one of the dangerous heavyweight contenders because he’s not going to get massive money fighting the like of 41-year-old Chris Arreola & 43-year-old Luis Ortiz, his last two opponents since losing his unified heavyweight championship to Anthony Joshua in December 2019.
The former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder appears to have given up on a fight with the 33-year-old former IBF, WBA & WBO champ Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) after failing to negotiate a deal for November.
Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) will likely wait for his January mega-fight against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia rather than indulge Ruiz by giving him his asking price of $10 million.
Ruiz hasn’t fought since last year in September when he beat Luis Ortiz by a close twelve round decision.
If Ruiz is going to fight this year, he will need to find someone soon because there are only four months remaining before the end of 2023.
“I’ll fight him for $10 million,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. on social media about his asking price to face Deontay Wilder. “They try to tell me they’ll offer me this or that, but it’s all bull s**t.
“They all know I’m a threat. They all know I’m a threat. Everybody knows I’m a threat. Champion of the world is the prize. ‘Why did you get that far?’ Because you sacrificed. You had to leave your family, you had to leave your loved ones to get to there.
“Is Fury ducking Usyk? I think so. Everybody listen to me. Everybody right now wants the easy fights. Everybody wants the easy fights,” said Ruiz.
The problem is, Ruiz wants the kind of money he would receive if he was still the three-belt heavyweight champion, but he’s no longer a belt-holder and rarely fights. Moreover, Ruiz has been cherry-picking old guys since losing to AJ.
If Ruiz wants to go back to being taken seriously by fans, fighters, and the top promoters, he needs to fight three to four times a year against top-level opposition.
Ideal opponents for Ruiz:
- Filip Hrgovic
- Arslanbek Makhmudo
- Bakhodir Jalolov
- Jared Anderson
- Frank Sanchez
- Martin Bakole
“Everybody that wants to fight me, they know it’s going to be a hell of a f***king fight,” said Ruiz. “They know it’s going to be hard. That’s why they don’t want to fight.
“You know what I’m doing? I’m staying ready. I’m trying to get it. ‘Stop ducking Wilder.’ Ain’t nobody ducking Wilder. Tell him to pay me what I deserve, bro. They’re trying to pay me what I made for my last fight [Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz in September 2022]. It doesn’t make sense.
“You’re climbing up the ladders, and then you get a big task. You’re supposed to beat him. I beat him [Ortiz], and the purse is supposed to go higher and higher and higher. That’s the way it goes. If you don’t know, then don’t say s**t.
“I get close, and they don’t see them because of my short arms. I’m waiting. Heck yeah, I can beat him. I need the opportunity, that’s it. The opportunity to show people. Right now, I feel like I’m at my best.
“I feel alive. Ever since I left my last relationship, I feel good. If you show Wilder what I’m doing in the gym and how I’m looking, he’s not going to want to fight, and he’s going to want to pay me less money. He’s going to want to fight me for less money,” said Ruiz.
