- Andy Ruiz Jr., a former world heavyweight champion, returns to the ring Sunday.
- He fights Luis Ortiz in a Premier Boxing Champions headliner on Fox Sports PPV.
Andy Ruiz Jr. won a boxing match he was never supposed to have won, and it changed his life forever.
On June 1, 2019, the wildly popular British boxer Anthony Joshua entered a New York ring to fight Ruiz, a late replacement who organizers brought in to lose. The self-described "husky" was a 25-1 dog at the time.
Joshua had a huge machine behind him — one that was intent on creating the Roger Federer of boxing, someone bigger Floyd Mayweather Jr. He had an entourage, blue-chip sponsors, and the backing of Matchroom and Sky Sports in the UK. Conquering America was Joshua's final hurdle to clear; superstardom beckoned if he succeeded.
In the fight itself, Joshua scored a flash knockdown in the third round that rallied his team. However, celebrations were short-lived as Ruiz got back to his feet and hit Joshua with everything he could.
The momentum quickly shifted and Ruiz knocked Joshua down four times by the seventh round. He scored one of the sport's greatest upsets, and sent a humiliated A.J. back to Britain as the conquered, rather than the conqueror.
Ruiz earned $7 million from the fight and became a household name as he toured talk shows, met the Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and ate like a king. "Husky" men nationwide celebrated their new champ, their Rudy Ruettiger of the ring.
Ruiz, however, wasn't prepared for the rematch he had to honor, came in heavy for the second fight in Saudi Arabia, and lost a decision to Joshua, having tipped the scales 20 pounds heavier — effectively a different man and fighter a mere six months later.
Ruiz continues to rebuild his career with a PPV fight Sunday against Luis Ortiz
He rebounded with a decision win over Chris Arreola last year, and returns to the ring Sunday for a fight against Premier Boxing Champions stablemate Luis Ortiz. It takes place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will air on Fox Sports and PPV.com from 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Ruiz has spoken before about how he went on to suffer from depression following the loss to Joshua in their second fight.
And, talking to Insider ahead of this weekend's show, the 32-year-old Ruiz revealed he still has bad days and dark moments.
"I was in a dark moment in my life when I lost because I was regretting all of the stuff that I did, and all the stuff I should have done in the rematch against Anthony Joshua," Ruiz told Insider.
"Things happen so fast — the fame, money, I was going over here, there, and I wasn't really focused. It was like I forgot about the rematch clause that we had. I ended up losing."
Ruiz felt depressed and stayed in bed after the only loss of his career
An admission that he did not train properly, together with the excessive weight gain, meant Ruiz rues what could have been. "I could have won that fight," he said.
"After the fight, I was depressed, in bed, in a bad moment. I didn't want to know about boxing because I was disappointed in myself. I knew the mistakes that I made."
Ruiz turned to his faith in those lowest moments. "I then started praying more, being closer to God. To this day, I still go through roller coasters of emotion, and I'm still fighting my way out," said Ruiz.
"We all have our good days and our bad days. But when I have those bad days, I pray to Jesus Christ, and he helps me remove the doubts that the devil put in my head."
Though Ruiz defeated Arreola he remained unhappy because he felt he hadn't made the improvements that he wanted to. "I had to get operated on for a knee injury," he recalled.
He paused.
"But now it's my time," he said. "I feel really motivated. My mind is back on track, and I'm looking at all the important things — and that's becoming a champion."
Ruiz wants Fury, and a Joshua trilogy, after his fight with Ortiz
One of the biggest motivators for Ruiz is ensuring he does not wake up another day with regrets. "The years go by so fast and the last thing we want to do is look back and say, 'We shoulda, woulda, coulda,'" he said.
"That's exactly what I'm not going to be doing."
Ruiz said he's "in a happy place" now as the days count down to his pay-per-view bout against Ortiz.
Victory sets him on a collision course with the division's biggest hitters, and Ruiz said he wants all that smoke. "The sky is the limit," he said.
"I hope and pray that Tyson Fury doesn't retire because it would be an honor to fight him. It's a bucket list fight," he said. "It would be a blessing to fight him."
Fury's not the only one Ruiz has his eyes on: Understandably, he wants a third bout with Joshua so they can settle their score. "Everyone else has done a trilogy except for me and him," he said.
Ruiz is aware there are "other opportunities," like a match against Deontay Wilder, a power-punching American.
But none of them will materialize unless he re-announces himself on the big stage with a convincing win over Ortiz this weekend.
"After the long layoff I had with knee surgery, we've been training really hard because we know damn well that Luis Ortiz is not going to be an easy fight," Ruiz said.
"He's an older guy. This might be his last opportunity to step closer and get a title shot again. But I feel this is my time, my era, and I'm motivated.
"This is why I wanted to pick a hard fight and a hard opponent," he said. "It's exactly why we picked Luis Ortiz."
'The years go by so fast,' Ruiz says
At 32, Ruiz is 11 years younger than Ortiz. However, he knows one day he'll be fighting the sport's younger athletes.
"The years go by so fast," he repeated. Ruiz wants to get back to the top of the division, fight the champions and contenders, and retire by 2026.
"I want to focus on four more years in boxing and give it all I've got, fight the top contenders.
"People want to see a real fight and see people get hurt. I want to fight September 4 and then again at the end of this year. I want to stay busy, man. I've got to catch up for all the years that I missed."