Former unified heavyweight champion of the world Andy Ruiz Jr already has his new year resolution set- to step inside the squared circle against Tyson Fury for the coveted WBC heavyweight title. However, the WBC title is more important for Ruiz over just fighting Fury, whom he recently called the best in the division, and there’s a hiccup that might actually prevent the fight from happening.
Andy Ruiz Jr is after Tyson Fury’s WBC belt, not just the fight
Tyson Fury is coming off of a destructive 11th round knockout in his trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder back in October, defending his WBC belt against the former champion. However, Fury’s promoter and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum recently stated that the “Gypsy King” will not be defending his WBC belt up next and instead, will defend his Ring Magazine title.
Ruiz, who had defeated Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF and IBO titles back in June 2019, is not after Fury’s Ring Magazine belt and wants to have a go at the green-and-gold, as his recent Instagram Story revealed, as per Michael Benson on Twitter.
Andy Ruiz Jr welcoming a potential fight with Tyson Fury next… pic.twitter.com/4Jhwy8T83C
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) December 29, 2021
Arum himself had also named Ruiz as one of the two potential fighters for Fury up next, the other one being Robert Helenius, Finnish pugilist who defeated Adam Kownacki in the undercard of Fury vs Wilder 3 on 9th October.
“Frank Warren and I are looking for another opponent to do Fury’s fight in Manchester or Las Vegas, depending on who the opponent is,” Arum revealed to iFL TV. “So we’re looking at Andy Ruiz as a possibility, he’s available. This big Finnish kid, who looked very good on the Fury vs Wilder 3 card, Helenius.”
Since losing to Joshua back in December 2019 in the rematch, Ruiz went on a hiatus of almost a year and a half, before returning in May this year against Chris Arreola to mark a unanimous decision victory.
Highlights:
- Andy Ruiz Jr wants to fight Tyson Fury if the bout is for the WBC heavyweight title
- Bob Arum recently said Fury’s WBC belt may not be on the line in his next fight
