Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. hasn’t been pleased with the way he’s fought since losing the unified heavyweight title by unanimous decision to Anthony Joshua on Dec. 7, 2019, in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. He wasn’t happy with his performance that night, though he came in at an unsightly 283 pounds and wasn’t in condition to perform.
His only fight since was a decision win over Chris Arreola on May 1, 2021, but Ruiz expressed unhappiness with his performance.
On Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Ruiz will face Luis “King Kong” Ortiz in the main event of a pay-per-view card that he hopes will parlay him into a major fight. If he wins and ex-WBC champion Deontay Wilder beats Robert Helenius next month, it’s possible if not likely they could meet next in the first half of 2023.
Ruiz, who left Eddy Reynoso after the win over Arreola and hired Alfredo Osuna as his trainer, came in at 269 pounds at Saturday’s weigh-in and looked in reasonably good condition.
At BetMGM, Ruiz is a -400 favorite to defeat “King Kong.” Ortiz is at +270. Ortiz is a -120 favorite to win by KO/TKO/DQ and is +250 to win by decision. The southpaw Ortiz, who at 43 is 11 years older than Ruiz, is +500 to win by KO/TKO/DQ. He’s +800 to win by knockout.
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In the co-main event, Isaac Cruz put Eduardo Ramirez down in the second round of their WBC lightweight title eliminator bout. Ramirez beat the count to his detriment as Cruz finished the job with a devastating knockout that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Former champion Abner Mares and Miguel Flores went the distance in their 10-round lightweight match, which ended in a majority draw. One judge scored the fight 96-94 in Mares’ favor with the other two judges having it even at 95-95. Mares, who has had issues with his eyes, hadn’t fought since losing to Leo Santa Cruz in 2018.
In the pay-per-view opener, replacement opponent Edwin De Los Santos upset Jose Valenzuela with a third-round TKO in their lightweight bout.
Stay tuned to Yahoo Sports for all the news and results from the main card.
Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz live updates
Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz main card odds, results, highlights
Heavyweight: Andy Ruiz Jr. -400 vs. Luis Ortiz +270
Lightweight: Isaac Cruz def. Eduardo Ramirez by KO at 2:27 of R2:
Lightweight: Abner Mares vs. Miguel Flores ends in majority draw (96-94, 95-95, 95-95)
Lightweight: Edwin De Los Santos def. Jose Valenzuela by TKO at 1:08 of R3:
