Andy Ruiz Jr. crushes Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision, drops Ortiz thrice during bout

Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked Luis Ortiz to the canvas three times on way to a unanimous decision victory in their WBC title eliminator.

The 32-year-old Mexican-American floored Ortiz twice in the second round before knocking him out again in the seventh.

The time has come… Who’s ready? 🥊🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/ii9auvqS4o

— AndyRuizJr (@Andy_destroyer1) September 3, 2022

Ortiz has already been knocked down 5 times in 2022, including twice in a January fight with Charles Martin, which Ortiz won by knockout in the sixth round. The defeat to Ruiz was Ortiz’s third in his career, with the previous two against Deontay Wilder.

Ruiz now has a shot at the WBC belt possessed by Tyson Fury, who is in discussions to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title. Another candidate for a Ruiz showdown next year is Deontay Wilder, who was ringside on Sunday and returns next month.

Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) had all of the important moments in the main event, winning by decision against Ortiz (33-3), a two-time world championship contender. The official scorecards for Ruiz after 12 rounds read 113-112 and 114-111 twice. The knockdowns were the determining factor, with two of the three judges awarding both men six rounds and one awarding Ortiz seven to five.

“I told you I was going to be a warrior,” Ortiz stated after the loss. “I love this. This is Cuba vs. Mexico. It was a war. … If they said ‘King Kong’ is old. I gave you a war today. I think I gave a good fight tonight.”

Ruiz reduced his effort eventually and thus lengthened the battle, yet he still won the bulk of the rounds. Ortiz had a seriously swollen eye at the end, but to his credit, he survived and continued to try to score powerful shots until the final bell.

“Staying active, man. I don’t want to be waiting so long before I fight,” Ruiz remarked on his win. “I want to be fighting three or four times a year. I’m ready. I want to bring the belt back to Mexico,” he added.

“I worked so hard for this fight, because I knew he’s a warrior and he hits hard,”‘ Ruiz said. “I thought I did a beautiful job handling his pressure and also coming forward.”