Ruiz survives knockdown to handily outpoint Arreola in heavyweight slugfest

Former unified titlist gets off the deck in second round

Heavyweights Andy Ruiz Jr. and Chris Arreola, both known for their brawling styles, delivered the action fight most expected on Saturday night.

But it was the much younger and fresher former unified world titlist Ruiz, returning to the ring for the first time since losing his belts by one-sided decision in a rematch with Anthony Joshua 16 months ago, who survived a second-round knockdown and then took over the fight. He won a unanimous decision in a title elimination bout that headlined a Mexican-themed Premier Boxing Champions Fox pay-per-view card to kick off Cinco de Mayo week at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

It was the first fight card in California that fans were permitted to attend since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and the 3,940 who turned out — the maximum allowed under the Covid-19 capacity limit — got their monies worth as Ruiz and Arreola fiercely battled all the way.

In the end, however, Ruiz won by scores of 118-109 from judges Lou Moret and Pat Russell and 117-111 from Zachary Young to thrust himself back near the top of the division. Fight Freaks Unite had Ruiz winning 116-111

“You know, Chris Arreola is a veteran and a hard puncher. We did what we had to do tonight,” Ruiz said. “We won the victory that we wanted. But remember, I was at my lowest point and now I have to climb the ladder again. I'm thankful for the victory and I'm ready to move on to the next. I felt a little rust and I know other fighters can relate to that.”

Ruiz turned in a far better performance than when he was previously seen in the ring in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia in December 2019 for the sequel with Joshua, which he barely trained for. Ruiz had scored a massive upset to win three of the major heavyweight titles by seventh-round knockout of Joshua in June 2019, but after such an enormous win he spent months partying and eating. He was a flabby 283½ pounds for the rematch — 15½ more than he was for the first fight — and Joshua routed him to regain the belts.

‘I'm thankful for the victory and I'm ready to move on to the next.’ — Andy Ruiz

Ruiz said he ballooned to 310 pounds and when he finally decided to restart his career, he reached out to superstar Canelo Alvarez to see if he would share trainer Eddy Reynoso with him. Alvarez and Reynoso talked it over and eventually welcomed him to their camp in San Diego, where Ruiz worked diligently.

Ruiz said he was incredibly motivated by Reynoso and got into as good condition as he has been in ages, entering the fight at a slimmed down 256 pounds. Arreola, a three-time world title challenger, who has had his own conditioning issues, was a career-light 228½ pounds for his first fight in 21 months since losing a decision in a barnburner against Adam Kownacki.

It was clear they both took their assignment very seriously and they fought like it in an action-packed battle.

Ruiz, always known for his fast hands, showed them off in the first round as he landed combinations, but Arreola did damage in the second round when he nailed Ruiz with a chopping right hand for a clean knockdown. Ruiz beat the count and took more punishment as the round wound down, but that was Arreola’s biggest moment of the fight.

“He got me with a good clean right hand in the second round,” Ruiz said. “I was too overconfident and dropped my hand a bit. Hat’s off to him. We just kept pushing and pushing. I switched up and started focusing on counterpunching and working the body.

“I just have to get back to work. I learned a lot about throwing different combinations in training, but the rust showed in the ring. Arreola was very good tonight. When you go down, you just have to climb back up. That's exactly what I did. I got dropped, but I got up and got the victory.”

Arreola (38-7-1, 33 KOs), 40, of Riverside, California, had another good round in the toe-to-toe third but Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs), 31, of Imperial, California, eventually took command and used his speed advantage to outbox and outpunch Arreola.

Although Arreola was putting in good work it was hard to give him rounds as the fight went on because Ruiz was so clearly outlanding him.

According to CompuBox statistics, Ruiz landed 161 of 626 punches (26 percent) and Arreola connected with 109 of 521 (21 percent), and his punches appeared to lack much steam on them in the second half of the bout.

In the eighth round, Arreola took a shot from Ruiz on his left shoulder that appeared to injure him. He tried to shake it out a few times during the rest of the fight, including the 11th. Referee Jack Reiss noticed it also and asked him about the shoulder between rounds.

“I got hit in the shoulder and it kinda threw it off,” Arreola said. “It wasn't a big deal though. It's a part of boxing. I didn't take too much punishment. I'm ready to run it back with Andy.”

While Arreola didn’t argue that he should have won the fight, he was extremely upset by how wide the scorecards were, cursing out the judges in his post-fight interview.

“Honestly, man, did he win? Fine,” Arreola said. “But don’t tell me you’re only gonna give me two, three rounds. F--- that! I’m gonna be like Dr. Dre. All y’all can suck my mother f------ d---!”

Later Arreola said, “A lot of punches he threw were hitting my gloves. He never put me in danger. It's dejecting to not get the respect from the judges that I feel I deserve. There's no moral victory. I came here to beat Andy. He might have beat me, but I felt like he won seven rounds at the most. I give me and (trainer) Joe (Goossen) a lot of credit. We trained hard for this fight. I did everything I had to do in the gym.

“I was a better fighter than Andy Ruiz expected. This version of Ruiz would knock Joshua out, but I was in great condition and ready for everything he had to offer.”

Although Ruiz said he would be willing to give Arreola rematch there hardly seems any point. While it was an exciting fight, it wasn’t a fight of the year that begs for a sequel, nor was the result at all controversial.

More likely, Ruiz will be lined up to fight another of PBC’s heavyweight contenders. There is former world titlist Deontay Wilder, who would be an attractive opponent, assuming the Tyson Fury-Joshua undisputed title fight is finalized and there is no Fury-Wilder III. There is also former two-time title challenger Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, who lost twice to Wilder in title bouts and was ringside. That match is of interest to Ruiz.

“A fight against Luis Ortiz would be an exciting matchup,” Ruiz said. “I have to get back to training so I can keep feeling better in the ring. I'm actually happy to get the 12 rounds in.”

Photo: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions