Ruiz Jr. to officially return against Knyba.
Andy Ruiz Jr. will always be known as the man who first beat Anthony Joshua, the American who halted a British invasion on U.S. soil in the most shocking way.
Our minds go back to that night in June of 2019 any time Ruiz gets brought up. Often considered the biggest upset behind Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas, it was stunning not just for the win itself, but how it was pulled off.
For Ruiz did not simply outpoint Joshua, no. Rather, he stood up after getting dropped early, braved the power that had felled almost every man before him, and downed the Englishman on four separate occasions before stopping him.
In that moment, as the new unified heavyweight champion, Ruiz had every right to feel like the king of the world.
He celebrated like a king, too, coming in very overweight for the Joshua rematch and getting his crown snatched off his head because he was simply too slow to snatch it back.
Since then, the American has only appeared in the ring three more times, the most recent of those being a controversial draw to Jarrell Miller almost two years ago.
But after signing with Matchroom Boxing last week, Ruiz’s next fight has now been made official.
Ruiz (35-2-1, 22 KOs) will be fighting Damian Knyba (17-1, 11 KOs) on the 4th of September at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, United States.
A Pole who stands at 6’7″ with an 86-inch reach, Knyba’s only loss came this January to current WBC heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel.
Ruiz and Knyba will be supported by a co-main event between Austin Williams (20-2, 13 KOs) and Vito Mielnicki Jr. (23-1 (1), 13 KOs), a middleweight bout for the IBF USBA, WBC Continental Americas, and WBO Global titles.
Back at it đź‘Šđź‘Š
Andy Ruiz returns to the ring against 6’7 Polish puncher Damian Knyba on Friday 4 September at @PruCenter 💥
In chief support Vito Mielnicki Jr and Ammo Williams battle it out for the IBF USBA, WBO Global & WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Titles 🛡️… pic.twitter.com/rIRHwhWTgH
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 14, 2026
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