Andy Ruiz Jr and Jarrell Miller will present a combined 675 pounds when stepping through the ropes in Los Angeles this weekend.
The two heavyweights are on a mission to get back to the top table and this is an early but crucial step on the way. Ruiz has a battle against almost two years of inactivity to contend with whilst Miller faces coming back from his first career loss, a late stoppage to Daniel Dubois.
There were keen eyes on the weigh-in due to the history of each man and his bulk and it’s Miller who dropped the most weight on the scales.
Ruiz Jr tipped the scales at 274.5lbs – six more than his last fight against Luis Ortiz as well as his shock title win over Anthony Joshua – whilst Miller was 305.5 having shed near 30 pounds since his loss to Dubois last December.
The Brooklyn native said, in this shape, nobody beats him.
“I’m going in for the kill. There’s nothing but love between me and you but when I step in the ring I’m gonna roast your ass. A happy, in-shape Big Baby is a dangerous Big Baby. Nobody beats me in shape. Not even a sparring session, I’ll whopp everybody’s ass. I’m gonna throw a million punches per round. I’m gonna wear his ass out. And we gonna knock him out. He’s been dropped plenty of times, I know what I can do when I’m in shape. I’m in shape, shape. No cheeseburgers for three months, no lovery-dovey for three months. I’m f***ing him up.”
Ruiz said that coming in a little heavier than what could be recognised as his peak was strategic.
“The main thin is I wanna win, man, especially for my fans. I feel really good, man. We knew that he was gonna be over 300 pounds. I didn’t wanna lose too much weight. I thought we did a perfect strategy. We’re ready to win. We’re ready to fight. We’re ready to go to war … I had everything in my palms and it went away. What do I got to do? I gotta win this fight. I know how it feels to be a champion and how it feels not to be a champion. Guess what? I wanna be a damn champion again.”
The Destroyer vs Big Baby 👀
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August 3 | Live on https://t.co/FoiaUucI53 | @Turki_alalshikh
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Fans praised the physique of both men with one saying each ‘had trimmed up’ meaning fans were in for an ‘absolute banger of a fight.’
Whilst someone said they would still like to see Ruiz ‘trim down more,’ another predicted a knockout win for the Mexican-American, who will have the home support behind him. Despite the added weight, most said he looked in much ‘better shape.’
It was branded ‘the battle of the super heavyweights’ and ‘a fight not to miss’ – there’s no questioning that.
