Canelo Alvarez took one on the chin himself this weekend as his prediction of an early knockout for new stablemate Andy Ruiz Jr. failed to materialize.
Under the guidance of Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso, Ruiz went from 310 pounds to 256 on the scales but was dropped early by Chris Arreola.
A shaky period from the second to the third ensued. In the end, Ruiz got the job done on points.
Before the first bell, Canelo had wrongly thought Ruiz was set for a dramatic comeback victory after losing his heavyweight titles to Anthony Joshua.
“Andy Ruiz’s victory over Anthony Joshua was spectacular. He won in force, he was the best, and he deserves all of the credit. Andy proved there are many examples of elite boxers from Mexico.
“Andy reached out to me after the loss to Joshua. I consulted with Eddy Reynoso, and we agreed to help him, but we told him that the one thing we required was discipline.
“Andy has demonstrated a lot of that. Andy has done absolutely everything that Eddy has asked of him. From improving his defense to his head and waist movement, and he’s got very quick hands and punches with power.
“It’s great that Andy became the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent, but now, it’s important to return to the top of the division.
“So this is a significant fight. With Andy facing Chris Arreola, this is the first time two high-quality Mexican heavyweights are going at it.
“Arreola will bring aggression, but I expect a very quick knockout victory from Andy.”
It didn’t quite transpire that way.
ANDY RUIZ JR. WINNER
Like Canelo, another ex-Floyd Mayweather victim thought fans would be in for a solid fight. And so they were.
Robert Guerrero, the former two-division champion, stated beforehand: “This is going to be a historic event with two top Mexican heavyweights going to war.
“This is rare, and I’ll be tuning in, and so should every Mexican boxing fan out there. This will not be a boring fight, and you can take that to the bank.”
With his win, Ruiz is now in line for a money-spinning battle with Deontay Wilder, provided the latter fails to land a trilogy with Tyson Fury.
