Former NYSAC Boxing Commissioner Sends Blunt Letter To Former Heavyweight Champion Andy Ruiz – Breaking Boxing News

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Dear Andy,

It’s been just over one week since your unsuccessful title defense against Anthony Joshua, the man you won the title from back on June 1. Immediately after your fight against Joshua, all the talk was about your fight…your loss…Joshua’s win…Joshua’s condition…your lack of it…and what an overall disappointment the fight, as a whole, was. Now, the boxing world is talking about guys like Terence Crawford, Teofimo Lopez and Mick Conlan.

They’re fun. All three are a refreshing breath of fresh air for the sport. Then there’s you. A few weeks ago, you fit in with the three of them. Then, it changed. It didn’t change because you lost. It changed because of how you lost, and how you have reacted to that loss.

I am writing this on behalf of so many boxing fans who have contacted me via social media, texts, e-mail, with calls to my radio show on SiriusXM and the gym I train in. For all of them, you need to hear what a disappointment you were on that Saturday night in Saudi Arabia against Anthony Joshua. You need to hear it and I need to say it.

I was ringside at Madison Square Garden on June 1, 2019, the night you pulled of what I consider to be 2019’s “Upset of the Year.” I was angry when negative remarks were hurled your way when you and Joshua were brought to the center of the ring by referee Michael Griffin just before the opening bell. On appearances alone, you were not going to beat Joshua. You were not going to take his title. Outside of your most rabid fans and Team Ruiz, most of the 20,000 in attendance felt you had no chance. It was believed by most that you and your 268 pounds were in over your head. Way over your head. I was in the minority.

I have seen enough of you to know what a good chance you had that night. I believed a fight against Joshua was a fight you could win. Why did I feel that way? After all, you were outsized and out-conditioned. Joshua had the edge in every department. Or did he? Did he have the fighting heart we’ve seen in you? Did he possess the in-fighting skills you possess? Did he have hand speed greater than yours? Could he turn combinations loose the way you can? Were his hands faster than yours? Could he take a better punch than you? The answer to every question is “No.”

This would be your second title shot. You dropped a 12-round majority decision to Joseph Parker in December 2017 for the WBO title. For that fight, you weighed 255¾ pounds. You had some fine moments in that fight. You also had some very lethargic moments. They were moments I blamed on your condition, or lack of it. I thought in better condition, it was a fight you would have won…should have won. In fact, after the fight, you took time off. I recall you saying you were taking time off to concentrate on conditioning. It was nice to hear you say that, as many in the boxing world have labeled you as “lazy.”

Included amongst your detractors is promoter Bob Arum, who took a buyout from you so you could terminate your contract with his company, Top Rank. “He’s got the ability,” said Arum, “but not the attitude.” So, after the loss to Parker—the first of your career—you took off in search of better physical conditioning. You took off all of 2017. When talk was of the heavyweight division that year and your name came up, it was talked about that you were working on becoming a more-dedicated athlete, a more-well-rounded, well-conditioned fighter. Your layoff lasted exactly 15 months. On March 10, 2018, you stepped into the ring at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California. We expected to see a new and improved, streamlined Andy Ruiz. Well, you did knock out 20-4 Devin Vargas in 98 seconds. But new? Streamlined?

You came in almost five pounds heavier for Vargas than you weighed in your title loss to Parker. Exactly what were you doing during your 15-month hiatus? You did shed eight pounds for your next fight four months later, against shop-worn, former fringe contender Kevin Johnson. But then, the weight gain started. From the 252¼ against Johnson, you went to 262 against Dimitrenko, nine months later. You then put on six more pounds for the biggest victory of your career one month after that. Those six pounds did not matter, because you were obviously prepared for Joshua that night. It’s what you did—or didn’t do—in the six months leading up to the rematch. It’s also what you and your team said. As Joshua was overhauling his fight plan and restructuring his body, you were overhauling your attitude and restructuring your body. Your attitude went from being easily accessible to the media to being a media recluse. You also lied to the media and to your fans.

“I will be considerably lighter for the rematch than I was for the first fight,” you said only days before the fight. What a crock that was. You also said, “I will be ready and willing to do die in defense of my title.” Another crock! You fooled so many, and got paid so much! It was incredible to see you, only minutes after your non-performance, holding up three fingers, telling the world you want a rubber match. What audacity! What nerve! Do you really believe anybody wants to see you fight Joshua a third time? After that? Had you actually given a good effort in Diriyah, had you actually done something that night to make us think you were trying to successfully defend your titles, perhaps then you could be talking rubber match. However, what you gave to the boxing world on December 7 was pathetic. It was embarrassing. You were paid millions for doing nothing. Here’s a two part question for you: 1. Do you really think you deserve an immediate rubber match? 2. Do you really think anybody wants to see a rubber match, outside of you? Andy, the answer is “NO!” to both questions.

What I suggest is this. Take off for the holidays. Take off January, as well. Maybe even February. Travel. Relax. Eat (you do that better than anybody!). Think long and hard about your boxing career. If you really want to continue, you’ll have to do something different. You’ll have to train. Hard. Long. Dedicated. I can hear you saying, “You have no idea about my condition. You have no idea how I train.” The fact is, I do know how hard you train. So does the whole boxing world. We saw on December 7 how “hard” you trained. Your words of apology after your title loss were too little, too late. Go ask Buster Douglas how he regrets his partying and lack of dedicated training after beating Mike Tyson in 1990. A few weeks ago, he told me “I wish I had done things differently back then. I wish I had taken my boxing career and the title I won with much more respect. I look back with regret. I was bestowed with the greatest title in the world and I didn’t do it any justice.”

Andy, learn from Buster Douglas. If not, party on. You’ve earned more money than most fighters ever earn. Maybe you’ve achieved all you set out to do and your hunger (your professional hunger, that is) is gone. You have gone from being today’s boxing headlines to being old news. If you want redemption, if you want that title back, you are going to have to prove it. You are going to have to work for it. You are going to have to shed that “lazy” label. Can you? Will you? Until then, there will be no rubber match with Anthony Joshua. There will be no facing the winner of Deontay Wilder Vs Tyson Fury. The boxing world will talk about them, and not about you. The boxing world will also be talking about Terence Crawford. And Teofimo Lopez. And Mick Conlan. They’ve earned the talk. They’ve earned the respect. It’s up to you to make the boxing world want to see you again.

With disappointment but still a ton of respect,

Randy Gordon

Randy “The Commish” Gordon is the Author of the hit book, “Glove Affair”. Order your copy by clicking HERE.

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