By Jake Donovan
There are no personal expectations of Andy Ruiz other than to get better with each fight. The mindset precedes his scheduled eight-round bout with Raphael Zumbrano Love this weekend at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The unbeaten heavyweight is back in the good graces of his handlers as well as the boxing public thanks to his renewed love for the game.
All he wants is to keep the good times rolling, which is entirely in his control.
A celebrated ring return just four weeks ago saw Ruiz – who has struggled with conditioning throughout his pro career – enter the ring at a svelte 247 ¾ lbs. for an eight-round win over late replacement Joell Godfrey in Lemoore, California.
The UniMas-televised fight – and more specifically the buildup to it – showed that the 26-year old from Mexicali is taking his craft seriously for the first time in a long time. Not only was he in shape, but was prepared to headline a card on short notice after unbeaten local attraction Jose Ramirez was force to withdraw due to injury.
With a motivated and in-shape version Ruiz comes a potentially great future top heavyweight. That he escaped unscatched from his shutout victory over Godfrey allowed for the quick ring return.
“The last fight was important to show that I’m back,” Ruiz (25-0, 17KOs) told BoxingScene.com. “To win that fight and then get to this show… I want to show HBO that I’m serious and that I will continue to improve with each fight.”
HBO is in town for the main event, as local hero Terence Crawford defends his super lightweight title versus Dierry Jean. The bout will serve as the live portion of a televised tripleheader that includes the exclusive replay of Gennady Golovkin’s 8th round knockout win over David Lemieux and Roman Gonzalez’ 9th round stoppage of Brian Viloria, both of which aired on HBO Pay-Per-View last Saturday.
The last time Ruiz had the chance to perform in front of HBO cameras – PPV or otherwise – was in Nov. ’13 in Macau where his opponent, Tor Hamer quit after three rounds of action. Ruiz was 257 ¾ lbs. for that fight, which served in supporting capacity to a then-rebounding Manny Pacquiao in a shutout win over Brando Rios.
A trio of fights on UniMas and its undercards came of his 2014 campaign, a year capped by a win over former champ Siarhai Liakovich. The win looks better on paper than it did in the ring, as Ruiz’ physique as well as an injury suffered during the bout prompted his handlers – including Hall of Fame promoter and no-nonsense trainer “Big” Jeff Grmoja - to suggest an extended break until he was able to get his act together.
That much was proven in September, even if his opponent – a late substitute when originally scheduled Devin Vargas bailed on the fight – offered far less “stick” than “move.” Still, it allowed Ruiz to return to the ring just four weeks later and – barring injury or any other disastrous occurrence – is already penciled in for a December 5 undercard appearance in Fresno.
“Zumbrano takes a lot of good punches. I feel confident and prepared. I'm ready,” Ruiz said, a statement he’s able to make with confidence these days.
Furthermore, it allows his handlers to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that babysitting is no longer a prerequisite. Still, a “better safe than sorry” approach is being taken to the resurrection tour. Three fights in a 10-week stretch forces Ruiz to stay motivated in and out of the ring, building towards a 2016 campaign they hope will lead to a title fight or at least Top 10 contention.
“Remember Mike Tyson?” Grmoja asks, rhetorically, of the Hall of Fame former heavyweight king. “He had 19 fights in his first 12 months as a pro. He had 13 fights the year (1986) he won his first world title. We look around in the heavyweight divison – there are roughly 1,200 active heavyweights, and at least 980 of them who can't fight.
“So we’re looking for the guys who can fight. As long as Andy isn’t in a grueling war, yeah, the plan is to stay as busy as possible. The best part is, he wants this. We don’t have to tell him what to do.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
