Andy Ruiz Training Hard Ahead Of New Year, Already Down 20 Lbs

Former IBO, IBF, WBO, and WBA Heavyweight Champion Andy Ruiz has found some new coaches to surround himself with, and is already in better shape than he was for his Anthony Joshua rematch.

Ruiz first become a world champion in June of 2019, where he finished Anthony Joshua via TKO at 1:33 of round seven, one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

The two then had an immediate rematch six months and six days later in December of 2019 that saw Joshua take back his titles via unanimous decision. This was a very disappointing out for Ruiz, who was noticeably much bigger than he was for their first bout.

In their first bout, Ruiz came in weighing 268 lbs, and for their second, he weighed in at 283.5 lbs. It was evidently a terrible move on his behalf, and we were hoping that’d change.

It seemed as if his motivation left him as soon as he claimed the titles, it was unfortunate. No discredit to Joshua, he’s one of the best heavyweights to ever do it, Ruiz just didn’t come into that fight at his best.

The same could be said for Joshua however, because he didn’t come into their first fight at his best. Rumors have circulated saying Joshua was hurt badly in his camp leading up to that fight, and some even say he was knocked completely unconscious leading up to their first bout.

We’ve got to imagine there will be a trilogy at some point, they’re 1-1 against one another. This is a good start for the former champion.

Ruiz had the following to say regarding his transformation going into 2021:

“I’m working hard preparing for whoever is next. Thank God we are on the right track, it’s hard. I’ve never done this in my entire life. I never lifted weights, I never had a physical trainer like them. It’s time to run, it’s time to get it back, it’s time to work hard.”