WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman let the cat out of the bag today, saying that #1 Deontay Wilder and #2 Andy Ruiz Jr will be ordered to fight in a title eliminator at the WBC’s upcoming convention a week from now in Mexico.
The fight is to determine the mandatory for WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Whether Fury still holds the WBC title by the time the smoke clears from the Wilder vs. Ruiz fight is unclear. Whoever holds the WBC belt will need to defend against the Wilder-Ruiz winner.
Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) is coming off a sensational first round knockout win over Robert Helenius last Saturday night in his return bout after being out of the ring for 12 months.
Fighting the short 6’2″ Ruiz will present some difficulties for Wilder due to Andy’s height and fast hand speed. But if Wilder can bomb Ruiz with the type of fight hand that he knocked out Helenius with, it will be an early night for him.
“In the convention, all the final eliminatory rounds that include Ruiz-Wilder will be ordered,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman to Marca about Wilder-Ruiz Jr to be ordered at WBC’s next convention a week from now.
“Andy Ruiz is a boxer of great diversity; he is a brutal puncher. But the styles make the fights, ‘El Destroyer’ is much shorter than Wilder; he can be complicated.”
“He can’t be afraid to throw. Guys that are long against guys that like to get on the inside, a lot of times they’re afraid to throw because once they extend the punch, the guy gets on the inside, and I got nothing,” said Shawn Porter to the Porter Way Podcast about Deontay Wilder needing to let his hands go against Andy Ruiz Jr.
“One thing Deontay can’t afford is to be afraid to throw because he’s afraid to let Andy Ruiz to get on the inside and get up on him. He’s got work really strong, really fast from the outside, and he can’t allow Andy Ruiz to get up on him.
“I think it’s a good fight, I think a competitive fight, and I’m pretty sure Deontay Wilder wins that. I want to see him back in the ring in January, and I don’t give a damn who it’s against.
“You hadn’t reached your potential when you fought Tyson Fury. All three times when you fought him. Now, yes, you’re a little bit older, but now you’ve reached your full potential, and at your filled potential, you beat Tyson Fury,” said Porter about what Wilder’s mindset should be if he defeats Fury in a fourth fight.
