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SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 8, 2019: American boxer Andy Ruiz Jr struggles in his bout against British rival Anthony Joshua to defend the IBO, WBA Super, IBF and WBO World Heavy Titles at Diriyah Arena outside Riyadh. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
via Getty
SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 8, 2019: American boxer Andy Ruiz Jr struggles in his bout against British rival Anthony Joshua to defend the IBO, WBA Super, IBF and WBO World Heavy Titles at Diriyah Arena outside Riyadh. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
The former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr had finally got an opponent in the name of Tyrone Spong. The maiden Mexican heavyweight titleholder Ruiz Jr. will end his long layoff on July 16 with a 10-round battle in Mexico City. However, this fight announcement did not sit well with his fans.
Ahead of this clash, Michael Benson of talkSport took to Twitter and reported it.
🥊 ANNOUNCED: Andy Ruiz Jr will face Tyrone Spong in a heavyweight clash on July 16th in Mexico. Fight will headline a Triller card.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 13, 2022
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As soon as this update surfaced on Twitter, ‘The Destroyer’ began facing fans’ backlash.
A Twitter user wrote, “Isn’t Spong a juice head that was going to fight Miller?
Isn't Spong a juice head that was going to fight Miller? https://t.co/jm6U0KsBKy
— Mark* (@mark_tjones) April 13, 2022
Apart from this, there were many fans who questioned Spong’s pedigree as a combat sports athlete while some fans seemed to know that he was indeed a dangerous puncher who held devastating power in his hands.
🤣🤣🤣🤣. I've been watching boxing since the 80's, and I've never heard of this SpongeBob guy.
— Doser (@TheOnlyDoser) April 13, 2022
He’s the guy who fought on eagle fc not too long ago and fought that dude way bigger than him
— Combat Sports Insider (@combat_insider) April 13, 2022
Man has been going downhill since that Joshua win. Sad to see.
— bombs boxing™ (@bombsboxing) April 13, 2022
Andy Ruiz is better than this surely.
— Jack (@JackMcM72) April 13, 2022
At least they upload the picture, but still Says inactive pic.twitter.com/TiJpz7k15P
— Alex.L. (@vii_alex) April 13, 2022
Who?
— El Fur de Ball (@El_fur_ez_Back) April 13, 2022
AJ broke him
— Jamie (@jamie68798469) April 13, 2022
The general pushback given by the fans about this booking was that Andy Ruiz Jr’s career trajectory was on a downturn ever since was defeated by Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua.
Andy Ruiz Jr and Tyrone Spong’s next fight
This is the second time in three years when ‘The Destroyer’ is going to collide in the ring. The last he fought was in May 2021 where he clinched a victory in a 12-round battle against Chris Arreola.
via Getty
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 01: Andy Ruiz Jr of California celebrates after defeating Anthony Joshua of England to win the World Heavyweight Championship fight on June 1, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Before that, Ruiz Jr had shocked the boxing world in June 2019. He rose to prominence when he pulled the biggest upset by thrashing, then unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, in the seventh round. However, the success was short-lived as he could not keep the titles in the rematch and faced a humiliating defeat. Chiefly, he appeared rather underprepared, heading into the rematch.
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As of now, the 32-year-old is going to lock horns against undefeated Tyrone Spong. The Paramaribo boxer is the WBC and the WBO heavyweight titleholder and has the goods to give a tough battle against Ruiz Jr.
Notably, this 10-round slugfest will be on a card on pay-per-view. Let’s see what differences will arise in the skills of Ruiz Jr. trained under the wings of Canelo Alvarez coach Eddy Reynoso?
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What do you think of Andy Ruiz Jr’s next opponent? Let us know in the comments below.
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