Does Andy Ruiz Jr. Deserve a Shot at Tyson Fury?

Last weekend, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder went to war. When nobody expected ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to be able to bring anything new to the table, he did exactly that.

Fury dropped his opponent in round 3 and the arena echoed with the wild cheers of the crowd. However, if there’s one thing Wilder knows to the core, it is the art of never giving up.

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Fans stood up, and those that doubted him inched closer to the edge of their seats as he dropped the fan-favorite, Tyson Fury, twice in round 4.

Despite Deontay Wilder‘s indomitable spirit, ‘The Gypsy King’ knocked him out cold in round 11, ended the rivalry, and retained his heavyweight throne.

Now that Fury is finally out of the Wilder rivalry, there’s a whole new world still left to be conquered.

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One of the bigger names being dropped into Fury’s cauldron of opponents is Andy Ruiz Jr. This opinion piece takes the former unified heavyweight champion into account and answers two critical questions –

1. Does Andy Ruiz Jr. deserve a shot at Tyson Fury’s title?
2. If it does happen, what would that fight look like?

How realistic is an Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Tyson Fury matchup?

After the Wilder vs Fury 3 event, Andy Ruiz Jr. expressed his desire to go up against Tyson Fury, who is now the greatest heavyweight in the eyes of boxing fans.

“Of course. Right now, everybody is eliminating each other. So, I just got off of surgery, but I’ll be back in December, January,” Ruiz said in a TMZ interview after the fight.

He continued, “I have other belts but I’m just missing the one and that’s the WBC. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

After a second win over Deontay Wilder, the boxing community is now looking forward to seeing who Tyson Fury goes up against next.

Considering that his last two fights have been against a single fighter, it might be time for Fury to cast the net for the new fishes in the heavyweight ocean.

Currently, there are only four names being highlighted as Fury’s next opponent – Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, Otto Wallin, and Dillian Whyte.

While Fury wants nothing more than to go after the unified heavyweight champion, he might be forced to face the winner of the Otto Wallin vs Dillian Whyte fight in October.

As of now, it doesn’t seem like Andy Ruiz Jr is really a significant component in this heavyweight narrative. However, in this division, narratives tend to change often and quickly.

To secure a fight against Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr. has to get past the likes of Dillian Whyte, Anthony Joshua, Otto Wallin, etc.

Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Tyson Fury: Fight analysis and prediction

In a potential matchup between the two, Andy Ruiz Jr. could bring in a new set of challenges to ‘The Gypsy King’.

The current WBC champ would step into the ring at anywhere between 250 lbs – 300 lbs in weight, 6 feet 9 inches in height, and an 85-inch arm reach. On the other hand, Ruiz would face an obvious disadvantage in terms of height, weight, and reach.

Given that Ruiz is currently at his lightest weight yet (he weighed in at 255 lbs against Chris Arreola in May), the weight difference could accentuate Fury’s threat.

Boxing fans know that Ruiz is no stranger to facing opponents with clear physical advantages. He proved he knows his way around that in the first Anthony Joshua fight; he slipped through jabs, slid into the pocket, closed the distance, and landed haymakers.

The first fight also showed that much like Fury, even Ruiz can move in a very unconventional manner. Ruiz’s go-to approach would be to weave through Fury’s shots and land sharp body shots and heavy haymakers to the head. While this worked against AJ, this approach wouldn’t necessarily prove effective against Tyson Fury.

In the third Wilder fight, Fury showed a ‘Kronk boxing style’. As soon as Wilder cut the gap and entered the pocket, Fury would engage in a clinch, wrestle and then land a heavy right hand.

Even in round 11, Fury landed a sharp right hook that dropped Wilder for the last time. So, Fury knows exactly how to counter Ruiz’s go-to approach.

In his rematch, AJ used his height and reach to his advantage and easily outboxed Andy Ruiz Jr. If Joshua could pull it off against him, Tyson Fury could get the job done as well. However, now, the only difference would be in Ruiz’s weight. That could possibly allow him to add more fluidity to his movement, defense, and footwork.

Until we see Ruiz back in action, the prediction for this fight seems quite obvious; a clean win (KO/ Unanimous Decision) for Tyson Fury.

Also Read: Tyson Fury Feels Retirement Is Next for Deontay Wilder