Tony Bellew has always kept a keen eye on the heavyweight division and thinks the return of one man will be news for many of the top contenders.
Bellew has witnessed plenty of change at the top in the last couple of years, as the division once ruled by Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder has splintered.
The belts are now held by Brit and WBO chief Daniel Dubois, who is soon to rematch Fabio Wardley; the newly crowned IBF champion Fillip Hrgovic, who saw off the challenge of young Moses Itauma last weekend; plus German Agit Kabayel, who holds the WBC and Russian Murat Gassiev, who is the current WBA ruler.
In a new post on X, Bellew responded to a quote from former champion Andy Ruiz’s trainer Manny Robles, who claimed “I’ve got the old Andy back” and suggested that’s big news.
“If this is correct, then trust me there’s a major player lurking in the heavyweight division! Andy Ruiz in fighting shape is a problem!!”
Ruiz is celebrated for his fast hands and is one of the quickest punchers in the division on his day. He has also proven himself to have a solid chin in fights against the likes of Joshua, who knocked him down hard before then being put down himself several times on the way to an upset loss in New York back in June 2019 that saw Ruiz become the unified champion.
He celebrated the win rather too hard and was not in shape for the rematch sis months later so he lost every round on the cards.
Since then, he has been set back by a hand injury that required surgery and has fought just three times, beating Chris Arreola and Luiz Ortiz, then drawing with Jarrell Miller in August 2024, but has recently vowed to win back a world title.
He returns to start the rebuild as part of a new fight deal with Matchroom Boxing tonight against the towering heavyweight Damian Knyba in a 12-round main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
