Andy Ruiz Jr. Beats Luis Ortiz Via Unanimous Decision; Former Champ To Face Tyson Fury For WBC Heavyweight Title

Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked out Luis Ortiz three times on way to a unanimous-decision victory Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in LA. The judges' final scores: 114-111, 113-112, and 114-111.

Ruiz (32-2, 22 KOs) knocked down two opponents in Round 2 and displayed his destructive power throughout the whole 12-round fight. A ferocious right hand that impacted Ortiz's temple caused the first knockdown. This balance punch appeared to affect Ortiz's balance for the remainder of the bout.

A Tough Bout

Given that no apparent clean punch seemed to have been struck, the second knockdown seemed to be a questionable call.

Ortiz (33-3, 28 KOs) used his southpaw jab to manage distance while boxing efficiently from the outside. Ruiz, though, typically prevailed in the trades when Ortiz stood and exchanged. Ortiz was repeatedly outpunched by the 32-year-old, whose punches repeatedly hurt the 43-year-old.

In Round 2, the Cuban was shaky on his feet but smashed his way out of difficulty and ended the round with a counter right hand that caught Ruiz off guard.

After the first round, Ortiz, who weighed 245.5 pounds, also gave Ruiz a right-hand rock.

Per the scorecards, Ruiz would have not won without the knockdowns. The former champ, who weighed 268 pounds, admitted that the fight was a "difficult" one.

"I was waiting for him to load up and countering him when he did. ... Ortiz is a warrior who hits hard. I did a beautiful job boxing him around. I showed more class than I usually do just coming forward," he said.

In Rounds 4 and 5, Ortiz outboxed Ruiz, but the Southern Californian struck again in Round 7 for another knockdown, this time with a compact right hand.

Ortiz's left eye was severely hurt at the end of the penultimate round, the swelling brought on by a vicious straight right hand that hit in the closing seconds of Round 11.

In Round 12, the underdog went for the knockout and scored a few crucial blows, but his power never posed a real threat to Ruiz.

Despite the defeat, Ortiz has shown his capacity to compete at the age of 43 and declared he was still not ready to put his gloves away, according to ESPN.

Ruiz' Next Target: The WBC Title

With the victory, Ruiz will be eligible for a shot at the WBC title currently held by Tyson Fury, who is negotiating to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the title of undisputed heavyweight.

Ruiz declared his desire to become more active in his boxing career, CBS Sports reported.

"I do not want to be waiting so long until I fight. I want to fight at least three or four times again. I'm ready, man, I'm hungry, I want to be champion again."

In attendance was Deontay Wilder, who will face Robert Helenius on October 15; this evening, nearly 20% of the program was devoted to him. Ruiz indicated he would welcome that bout as well as a follow-up, per SB Nation.

"Me and him are in the same organization, Al Haymon can make this fight happen. Let's do it, let's get it on," said Ruiz.

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Boxing