Хүнд жингийн боксчин Энди Руиз жин хассан ч рингэн дээрх ур чадвараа дахин нотлох шаардлагатай тулгарч байна.
Энди Руиз баасан гарагт Нью-Жерси мужийн Ньюарк хотын “Prudential Center”-т Дамиан Кныбатай тулалдахаар товлогджээ. Пүрэв гарагт болсон жин үзэх ёслолоор Руиз 254.3 фунт татсан нь 2018 оноос хойших хамгийн бага үзүүлэлт болсон байна. Тэрээр өмнөх тулааныхаа үеэр 274.4 фунт байсан бөгөөд бэлтгэлийн явцад 40 гаруй фунт хассанаа хүлээн зөвшөөрчээ.
Боксын шинжээч Тедди Атлас Руизыг техник болон туршлагын хувьд илүү гэж үзэж байгаа ч түүнийг ялалтад хүрэх эсэхэд эргэлзэж байна. Атлас “Дамиан Кныба өндөр болон гарын уртаа ашиглан зай барьж тулалдвал боломж гарч ирнэ. Руиз жин хассан ч энэ нь түүнийг 2019 оны оргил үеийнх шигээ хурдан болгосон эсэх нь тодорхойгүй” хэмээн байр сууриа илэрхийлжээ.
Энди Руиз Энтони Жошуаг ялснаас хойш сүүлийн дөрвөн тулаандаа тогтвортой тоглолт үзүүлж чадаагүй юм. Тэрээр 2024 оны наймдугаар сард Жаррелл Миллертэй тулалдаж тэнцсэн бөгөөд тухайн үед баруун гартаа гэмтэл авсан ч энэ нь түүний уналтыг бүрэн тайлбарлах шалтгаан болохгүй гэж үзэж байна.
Дамиан Кныбагийн хувьд өмнө нь Агит Кабаелд ялагдсан ч энэ удаад нутгийн дэвжээндээ, өөрийн талын хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн өмнө тулалдах давуу талтай юм. Хэрэв Руиз энэхүү тулаанд ялалт байгуулж чадахгүй бол түүний нэр хүнд болон ирээдүйн боломжуудад сөргөөр нөлөөлөх эрсдэлтэй байна.
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Massive paychecks kept rolling in without Joshua. Ruiz collected lucrative pay per view main event money against Arreola and Luis Ortiz, enabling him to stay rich while keeping his schedule quiet. Arreola dropped him early, Ortiz forced him into sporadic bursts, and Jarrell Miller battered him down the stretch in August 2024 to force a draw.
Hurting his right hand against Miller offers little excuse for the decline. Ruiz has failed to deliver a commanding performance in four consecutive outings following his career-best win over Joshua. Camp insiders promise better conditioning and renewed focus before every return, yet the actual ring work routinely mocks the promotional rhetoric.
Atlas still ranks Ruiz as the superior technician heading into Friday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Hand speed, punch resistance, and seasoned ring generalship all tilt toward the veteran. Atlas simply refuses to endorse Ruiz until the California heavyweight proves his appetite survived a lifestyle sustained entirely by past paydays.
“There is a window of opportunity for Knyba to use the reach, use the height, use his legs a little bit, and box on the outside. I’m curious to see if I’m going to think that Knyba is a little bit of a live dog at three-to-one. I ain’t laying it so fast because of those ifs,” Atlas said on THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas.
Thursday at the weigh in, Ruiz registered 254.3 pounds, his lowest official reading since 2018. The figure represents a 20.1 pound drop from the 274.4 pounds he carried into the ring against Miller. Ruiz admitted ballooning near 300 pounds during his long sabbatical, giving merit to camp reports detailing a drop of more than 40 pounds throughout training.
Trimming down looks clean for promotional cameras, though bathroom scales cannot measure actual fighting endurance. Ruiz has to demonstrate that shedding blubber revived his footwork rather than simply leaving him depleted. At 36, stripping off substantial weight after a long layoff rarely restores the blistering hand combinations of 2019.
Knyba suffered a three-round stoppage against Agit Kabayel in January, yet Ruiz brings an entirely different stylistic approach. Kabayel walked down the giant Polish contender, battering his ribs without intermission and stripping away room to punch or clinch.
Relentless body punching vanished from Ruiz’s arsenal years ago. The former unified king now hunts overhand rights, fires sudden hooks up top, and retreats to admire his handiwork. Hunting exclusively around Knyba’s earmuffs will allow the taller man to tie up the Californian, reset center ring, and establish his preferred distance.
Atlas spots that tactical trap immediately. Ruiz possesses the timing to counter over Knyba’s pole jab, yet single counterpunches accomplish little without persistent ring cutting. Following Knyba around the perimeter gives the underdog freedom to pile up points behind his natural reach.
Newark also gives Knyba an advantage Kabayel denied him in Germany, starting with genuine regional backing. Knyba trains locally and owns three victories inside Prudential Center. Northern New Jersey features a massive Polish population ready to turn the arena into a boiler room against a West Coast invader. This booking functions as a home game, not a neutral showcase.
Linking up with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom demands an emphatic statement. Heavyweight hardware is scattering across multiple sanctioning bodies, opening avenues for marketable names. That promotional reality explains why Ruiz commands big television slots at his age.
Laboring to an ugly points win will do zero favors for Ruiz’s marketability. Sputtering through a low-tempo struggle against Knyba merely proves the transformation stopped at the bathroom scale.
Atlas asks the proper question because the malaise has lingered for seven years. Friday reveals how much fight actually exists once Knyba forces Ruiz to work.
