Former unified world champion Andy Ruiz Jr has expressed his desire to make history after completing his comeback fight this weekend.
The Mexican-American is perhaps best known for causing a major upset in 2019, dethroning Anthony Joshua with a stunning seventh-round finish in New York.
In doing so, he became the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage and seriously hit the jackpot, earning life-changing sums of money in a relatively small timeframe.
Ruiz has admitted that this only had a negative impact on his training, though, and ultimately led to him losing a wide unanimous decision in the Joshua rematch.
After that, ‘The Destroyer’ claimed two points victories – against Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz – before boxing to a controversial draw with Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller in August 2024.
Since then, Ruiz has remained out the ring but is back training with head coach Manny Robles ahead of his eagerly-awaited comeback and promotional debut with Matchroom.
This will take place in New Jersey, Newark, on September 4, with Damian Knyba occupying the opposite corner after suffering a third-round stoppage defeat to Agit Kabayel – who is now the WBC champion – in January.
Speaking with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, Ruiz insisted that he fully expects to defeat Knyba and then achieve another slice of history.
“It feels good – all the hard work and dedication. Before, I would be doing my own thing – my own understanding – but now, I’ve got the team back together.
“We made history once; we’re going to do it again, baby. Just watch.”
In terms of history-making feats, Ruiz could become the first-ever two-time heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage, but only if he secures another world title shot before retiring.
