A former unified world heavyweight champion has suggested he has started working towards a return to the boxing ring.
Marvin Hagler once said that it is ‘tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5am when you’re sleeping in silk pyjamas’ and so it has proved for many world champions who, having reached the top of the mountain, quickly fall by the way side. It takes a special type of fighter to get on top and stay there for decades, such as Floyd Mayweather, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez or Joe Calzaghe, who set a record for making 20 defences of his super-middleweight world title.
Andy Ruiz Jr is very much in the former camp. After a stunning upset win over Anthony Joshua as a last-minute stand-in back in June 2019 to become unified world heavyweight champion, he appeared to celebrate his success too much.
Six months after becoming the first Mexican-American world heavyweight ruler, he entered a rematch with Joshua in Saudi Arabia in bad shape and hugely overweight.
As such, he lost almost every second of every round to give up his titles with little resistance.
Since then, he has enjoyed his earnings and fought just three times – claiming two laboured points wins over 12 rounds against Chris Arreola and Luiz Ortiz, before a draw with Jarrell Miller in August last year, whom many thought he was lucky to avoid defeat against despite Ruiz Jr later showing off an awful hand injury.
In a new post on his Instagram, Ruiz Jr shared a comment as well as a picture of some food prep.
“Gotta start now and only eat protein for 3 weeks. Getting ready before fight camp. Slow but surely. Work in progress…”
Back in January, Ruiz confirmed that he had been given the go ahead to resume training.
“Just got the green light from the doctor. Let’s go, I’m ready to fight. Who should I fight this year?”
Ruiz is 35-years-old so there is still time for him to make another run at world heavyweight honours, especially given the toughness and hand speed he has often shown throughout his career.
