Heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. inadvertently dismissed Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in a recent interview regarding his future.
Discussing the possibility of fighting for the undisputed crown, Ruiz Jr. pointed to a massive battle with stablemate Deontay Wilder.
Ruiz must get past Joshua for a second time on December 7. Wilder firstly has to defeat Luis Ortiz and then Fury in back-to-back rematches.
That didn’t stop Ruiz, whether mistakenly or not, expecting Wilder to be the one in the opposite corner for all the belts.
“I don’t want to look past Anthony Joshua,” said Ruiz, according to Spire FM. “My eyes are on the prize with him.
“So after I win that fight, then I can fight Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. We’re in the same team, so I think it will be good.”
The key phrase Ruiz stated was ‘were in the same team’ – which certainly isn’t the case with Fury.
Only Wilder is assigned to the same stable under Al Haymon, meaning Ruiz is ultimately aiming for an in-house encounter with Wilder.
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Mexico’s first ever top division title holder is aiming high on the back of a shock win over ‘AJ’ in New York. But faces a daunting challenge in Saudi Arabia.
The 30 year-old will be far from home, as will Joshua, when the pair collide. With Ruiz hell-bent on eventually winning ever strap on offer.
“Of course, I’m just missing one belt. One belt to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
“That’s the goal, but I don’t want to look past Anthony Joshua. I want to defeat him one more time.
“There’s a lot of critics saying that it’s a lucky shot, that I’m going to lose. I’m using all the negative energy to positive energy, so we’re going to win,” concluded the IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA ruler.
SUMMER
Wilder is set to make a formal announcement on his clash with Ortiz next week. Whilst Fury II is pencilled in for February 22nd of 2020.
Any future Ruiz v Wilder unification will be on cards for around June or July, potentially in New York or Las Vegas.
All depends on how well Fury heals from serious cuts suffered when defeating Otto Wallin last weekend.