Hearn says who he believes Ruiz would beat.
Andy Ruiz Jr. will be making his return to the professional ring in September, taking on recent Agit Kabayel opponent Damian Knyba in his first fight back in over two years.
The very height of Ruiz’s career saw him sensationally stop Anthony Joshua in 2019, wresting from him the unified heavyweight championship in one of the biggest upsets the sport has ever seen.
Since his rematch with Joshua, though (in which Ruiz lost a wide decision), the American has not returned to that sort of level again. In fact, he’s only appeared on a few occasions.
At almost 37 years old, he doesn’t have as much time as he used to, so he will likely be wanting to speed things up before his opportunities run out.
Earlier this year, he was considered a potential opponent for Oleksandr Usyk. And while that matchup didn’t eventuate–and it now looks like it never will–Ruiz may be able to find himself back in some meaningful conversations if he can win his next fight.
A long and rangy Polish operator whose only loss is to a current world champion, Knyba isn’t the ideal opponent to fight after a long time out of the ring. However, it is in the belief of Eddie Hearn–who Ruiz recently signed with–that not only will Ruiz beat Knyba, but also several other top heavyweight players.
“I think he’s going to be a massive threat to the division”, Hearn told iFL TV. “He’s got a massive fanbase, he’s a huge name, he’s a very, very good fighter, and we all know with Andy Ruiz, he’s serious.”
The Matchroom Boxing boss went further by stating, “When I look at the heavyweight division right now, you look at the champions. [Murat] Gassiev, WBA [champion], Ruiz beats him.
“I also think he beats Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley. I believe he can beat Agit Kabayel.
“Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t boxed for two years, and he’ll have his comeback fight in early September, but I believe he beats those guys.”
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