Andy Ruiz Jr has turned his attention to Deontay Wilder after beating Luis Ortiz via unanimous decision at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
The former heavyweight world champion, the first boxer of Mexican heritage to reign supreme in boxing’s marquee division, dropped the veteran Cuban three times en route to scores of 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 from the judges in the WBC title eliminator.
The Destroyer, 35-2 (22), scored two knockdowns in the second round and once in the seventh, serving a timely reminder to the rest of the division of the power he possesses.
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Despite the trio of knockdowns, Ortiz, 33-3 (28), boxed well for decent portions of the fight and showed that, even at the age of 43, he can still provide a tough test for anyone.
"I'm ready, man. I'm hungry," Ruiz told Fox Sports after the fight. "I want to be champion again and bring that belt back to Mexico!
"If Deontay wins in October, me and him are with the same management and we can make this fight happen."
Former world champion Wilder, who was ringside to watch Ruiz's win, returns to the ring next month in a separate WBC eliminator against ‘Nordic Nightmare’ Robert Helenius.
The Bronze Bomber sounded positive over the prospect a future showdown with Ruiz Jr however, claiming, "Deontay Wilder is back and looking for great, exciting fights to give the fans.
"If that's what the fans want, let's do it."
The American has not fought since losing his trilogy fight against WBC champion Fury in October last year.
Earlier on the same card, Isaac Cruz, 24-2-1 (17), scored a sublime second round knockout of Eduardo Ramirez, 27-3-3 (12), before calling out previous conqueror Gervonta Davis. Cruz lost by unanimous decision to Tank in December 2021 and the hard-hitting Baltimore native was in attendance for the fight last night - however, judging by the three-weight champion’s body language, it didn’t seem like Davis was interested in revisiting old ground.
Former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin also got back to winning ways, stopping Devin Vargas in four rounds to improve his record to 29-3-1 (26).
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