Andy Ruiz beats Chris Arreola in the heavyweight division at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday. Ruiz won unanimously. (Harry How / Getty Images)
California hosted a boxing card with fans for the first time since the pandemic began, and two of them featured on the Saturday night show Southern California’s native boxing sons looking to revive their careers.
The heavyweight showdown between the former uniform heavyweight champion took place at Dignity Health Sports Park Andy Ruiz Jr., from Imperial and three-time world title challenger Chris Arreola, from the riverside. The Mexican-American fighters wanted to boost their heavyweight presence just days before Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that’s a bit like Super Bowl week of boxing.
A dedicated and disciplined Ruiz reappeared, proving that he is ready. He lived up to his nickname “The Destroyer” by unanimously defeating Arreola in front of a lively crowd of 3,940 viewers with a 33% capacity.
Ruiz (34-2, 22 Ko) survived a rusty and bumpy start in the second round, highlighted by a rainfall, and a third round in which he was jiggled heavily to recover and had a rough affair with 117- 110 to win. 118-109 and 118-109.
“If you go down, all you have to do is climb back up. That’s what I did. I was dropped, but I got up and got the win,” said Ruiz. “I could have done a lot more.” I couldn’t really find my distance, but part of it was that Arreola did a good job. I could have put my hands up better, but I just need to get back to the gym and stay busy. “
Ruiz landed 161 punches while Arreola countered 109 per CompuBox.
Ruiz started the first lap forward and connected with hard rights to Arreola’s chest (38-7-1, 33 KOs). His blazing hand speed was displayed 35 seconds before the end when he landed a clean right hand that caught Arreola at the temple.
Andy Ruiz Jr., right, hits Chris Arreola during their heavyweight bout on Saturday. (Harry How / Getty Images)
Andy Ruiz Jr. gets a punch from Chris Arreola during their heavyweight bout on Saturday. (Harry How / Getty Images)
A more lithe Ruiz seemed to slide into the second round until Arreola stunned him with a right hand that passed over the side of his temple and folded his right knee. Ruiz fell half-heartedly and clearly disappointed on the screen. Apparently, however, he was injured because Arreola soon had more success.
The story goes on
The third round began for Arreola, who cradled Ruiz with another vicious left counter-hand that folded his knees.
They immediately started acting and swinging wildly, much to the delight of fans. Ruiz recovered and showed his resilience and caught Arreola’s attention with a left hook within a minute and began to push him back again.
“I respect the judges, but I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He might have won, but don’t tell me I just won [one] round, ”said Arreola. “A lot of punches he has thrown have hit my gloves. He never put me in danger. It’s depressing not to get the respect from the judges that I think is deserved.”
Ruiz was the Cinderella story of boxing in 2019 when he sparked the shock of the century by knocking out Anthony Joshua to become the first fighter of Mexican descent to take the heavyweight crown.
The awards and newfound fame and money that came with the life-changing victory proved too much for Ruiz, and he soon broke up. The already burly pugilist rose from £ 268 to £ 283 for the rematch just six months later and lost in a landslide decision.
The humiliating defeat was more than enough reason for Ruiz to rethink his future. After battling depression and gaining up to 300 pounds, Ruiz decided to switch coaches, handing the keys to his career to Eddy Reynoso, Canelo Alvarez’s respected coach and confidante.
Reynoso turned out to be the whisperer and taskmaster 31-year-old Ruiz needed to revive his career, at least for tonight.
Ruiz, who stayed behind on the scorecards early on and developed welts and redness under his eyes, orientated himself again and gained momentum again in the fourth moment.
“I felt a little rust and I know other fighters can relate to it. If he wants to let it run back, we’ll run it back with him,” said Ruiz. The most important thing was that we came back and got the win. “
The feverish pace slowed in the fifth, but Ruiz was still harmful, rocking Arreola twice in the last minute with a pair of overhanded right hands.
Ruiz picked up exactly where he left off to start sixth with a three-stroke combo. Arreola was getting tired. The fatigue seemed to carry over to the seventh as Ruiz was the busier fighter, showing his quick hands and landing hard shots.
Ruiz introduced a body attack in the eighth and Arreola just couldn’t respond. By the ninth round, Arreola’s production had shrunk.
In Arreola’s favor, he never hugged, held, or slovened the fight. He just couldn’t get rid of the shots he landed on round two and three.
Andy Ruiz Jr. raised his hand from referee Jack Reiss after defeating Chris Arreola on Saturday. (Harry How / Getty Images)
A more patient Ruiz began measuring his shots on the 10th as he accumulated points on the scorecards. In the 11th round he accelerated the pace a little more with leadership rights and started in the 12th round to achieve the knockout with a series of vicious storms. Arreola ate all the punches and barely winced.
If there was a moral victory for Arreola, it was never dropped or looked badly injured. But he just couldn’t use his short window to capitalize on early in the fight.
“I haven’t taken too much punishment. I’m ready to run it back with Andy, ”said Arreola. “I was a better fighter than Andy Ruiz expected. That version of Ruiz would take Joshua out, but I was in great shape and ready for all he had to offer.”
The 40-year-old Arreola has insisted several times over the past few years that his 18-year career is nearing its end. He’s dropped to 3-4-1 since 2014 with no competition but has shown he’s not done yet.
He is now a key heavyweight player again for Ruiz. Tasty fights against Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz, or a rematch with Joseph Parker to avenge his other loss, could be on the table before he gets another jump at the titles owned by Tyson Fury and Joshua.
The action between Ruiz and Arreola apparently also brought the fight of the fans. At least three massive brawls broke out in the stands as security forces unfortunately tried to stop the hand-to-hand fighting.
The night ended more heartwarmingly when both boxers took their boys into the ring to share a family moment.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles times.
