Big Talk From The Destroyer
Right then. Andy Ruiz Jr has not boxed for two years, and he is talking like a man who never left. Ahead of Friday night's return against Damian Knyba at the Prudential Center in Newark — covered in Monday's fight week piece — Ruiz told the media exactly where his head is: he is dangerous, he is hungry, and becoming a two-time heavyweight champion is, in his words, his mission. And he named his targets — the men now holding the belts Oleksandr Usyk vacated.
That is quite the shopping list. The WBC sits with Agit Kabayel, the WBA with Murat Gassiev, the WBO with Daniel Dubois, and the IBF — as this site knows better than anyone after the O2 — now lives in Croatia with Filip Hrgovic. A splintered division means opportunity, and Ruiz can see it.
He Says He's Learned His Lesson
The most interesting line from Ruiz wasn't the ambition — it was the humility underneath it. He admitted he is not overlooking Knyba the way he has overlooked big underdogs before, and anyone who watched those nights knows exactly what he means. A motivated Ruiz beat Anthony Joshua for the world title. A complacent Ruiz has looked very ordinary indeed. Knyba, for his part, is treating Newark like home — the Pole calls the Prudential Center his second home and is promising a sea of white and red in the stands.
The Queue Is Longer Than He Thinks
Make no mistake, though — talk of title shots is running well ahead of reality. Every one of those four champions has mandatories and bigger paydays circling, and a 36-year-old coming off a two-year layoff does not jump a heavyweight queue with one win over a prospect. Ruiz needs Friday to be emphatic, and then he probably needs another one. The mission is fine. The map is longer than he is letting on.
Luke's Verdict
Let's not beat around the bush — the pick from Monday stands. Two years out is a proper risk against a 6ft 7in man with a long jab, and if this goes twelve quiet rounds the queue-jumping talk dies on the spot. But Knyba has never met hand speed like this, and when Ruiz gets inside that jab the combinations will come in threes and fours. Ruiz inside eight rounds — and then, and only then, we can talk about belts. Friday's card details on our fight cards page.