Andy Ruiz Jr. won’t be facing Deontay Wilder anytime soon after suffering an injury in training that required surgery.
The first-ever Mexican heavyweight champion has been linked to facing Wilder for some three years. However, the fight has never gotten to the finishing line despite the WBC intervening.
Ruiz contemplated an interim fight, but he went under the knife to fix a problem that will keep him out until 2024.
Andy Ruiz Jr. had a dream about Deontay Wilder
Recently revealing a dream he had about Wilder, Ruiz is forced to wait longer to fulfill his prophecy.
“I had a dream that I fought this big guy. It was Wilder,” said Ruiz. “I knocked him down, and I won.
“That’s exactly why I’m trying to stay in shape to get ready. I’m going to win. I’m going to win that fight,” he added.
Wilder vs Ruiz could be at least another six to eight months away. Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, says they may turn to Francis Ngannou, who is a more dangerous opponent, after going hell for leather with Tyson Fury.
“You don’t have to be disciplined your whole life. Just for the fragment of time that the fight is scheduled,” Scott told FightHub TV. “Think about it. Anthony Joshua wasn’t disciplined with him the first time he fought him [Ruiz]. He traded with him. He acted like he didn’t know who Andy was, and it cost him.
Ngannou
“He got caught while he was punching. “Ngannou fought Tyson Fury in a very disciplined type style. He wasn’t overreaching. I expected this because of his novice ways, from the MMA to the boxing world.
“But I expected him to overreach more, and I expected him to be a bit more wilder. I expected him to do a lot more clinching.
“He wasn’t even initiating the clinches. Fury was. At times, he would clinch, and even in the clinches, it was obvious who was the stronger.
“Not that it was shocking news, but at one time, he was throwing Fury around. “Is Andy Ruiz a better boxer than Francis Ngannou? Yes. Is Andy more dangerous than Ngannou? Absolutely not.”
Wilder vs Ngannou is the preferred fight for crossover fans. Fury is locked into a contract with Oleksandr Usyk and has to fight the Ukrainian in the first half of 2024.
A rematch could then happen later next year, leaving Ngannou with a whole year to explore other options.
