By Thomas Gerbasi
As Chris Arreola prepares for his third crack at the heavyweight title this weekend against WBC champion Deontay Wilder, an opportunity received despite winning just one of his last four bouts, it would be understandable if Andy Ruiz Jr. is a little salty as he awaits a bout on the same night against 42-year-old Josh Gormley.
“It gets me mad,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Why wouldn’t they want to fight me? Am I really that big a threat to them? What is it?’ But right now I’ve just got to stay patient, beat up every guy that’s in front of me until I’m the mandatory and that’s when I’ll have my chance. But I do get frustrated.”
The Mexicali native has every reason to be. Ranked in the top ten in three of the four sanctioning bodies and unbeaten in 27 pro bouts with 18 knockouts, Ruiz may not be the best heavyweight in the world at the moment, but he’s earned his chance at proving that he is. So while promotional or television politics may be what’s keeping him from a shot at gold at the moment, the Top Rank heavyweight is just going to keep fighting and winning until he gets that phone call.
“His job is to fight,” said trainer Jeff Grmoja. “Top Rank, their job is to promote and my job is to train, so we all have to do our jobs. We do what we have to do to prepare, and we hope that the pieces of the puzzle come together.”
The next piece of the puzzle is a trip to Detroit’s Masonic Temple to face Gormley on Salita Promotions’ “Detroit Brawl” show. A pro since 1992, Gormley didn’t fight for over 16 years from 1999 until his return in 2015. When he came back, the Californian won three straight by knockout in the Dominican Republic against a trio of opponents with a combined 9-56-2 record. In other words, this is a classic keep busy bout for the “Destroyer,” but he’s not approaching it as such.
“We’re prepared for whoever’s in front of us and every guy is dangerous in that ring,” Ruiz said. “I do what I have to do, and at the end of the day, I gotta get that win and do the best I can.”
Already expected to be back in the ring in September, Ruiz is expected to win this Saturday, but it is an important bout for the simple reason that he has to look good to make a move in terms of public perception. And unfortunately, when it comes to looking good, everyone’s eyes are on the 26-year-old’s waistline.
“He certainly isn’t perfect all the time with his diet, and that’s been a bigger obstacle than some of the opponents,” Grmoja admits. “But the last three fights, he’s consistently been in the high 40s.”
After debuting in 2009 at 297 ½ pounds, the 6-foot-2 Ruiz’ weight has fluctuated, but he seems to have settled in at the 248-pound range. The question is though, with his fast hands, has the whole weight thing been overblown?
“I’m 6-7, 295,” Grmoja said. “If I go into the store in Las Vegas, because we have to have water filtration, and I pick up a 25-pound bag of salt and I walk down two or three aisles, I feel a lot different than when I don’t have it. So the excess weight comes in when you say can you be as strong in round 12 as you are in round five? We’ve been the distance a few times, but if I had somebody fighting Andy Ruiz, my thought would be let’s try to take him to deep water and drown him. Obviously, guys like Deontay Wilder, (Anthony) Joshua, they’re probably going to try to utilize that reach, so our fight style, with a lot of the head movement and trying to get inside and taking away that long-range distance, is very demanding physically and I don’t think we need excess baggage. But I don’t want him to be 220 pounds. He’ll never be chiseled like some of the guys are; he’s just not that body style. In my mind, the 240s would be his optimum weight.”
If Ruiz can get there, stay there, and have the stamina to go 12 hard rounds, he can be a handful for any of the current champions. And he knows it. He just needs his chance to prove it in a division where there isn’t Wladimir Klitschko and everybody else. There’s a real opportunity for a good heavyweight to unseat a champ and rule the roost.
“Right now, I see it (the division) as wide open, so I’ve got to stay busy and get any fight that I can,” Ruiz said. “So if they offer me a fight or if I’m the mandatory, then I’ll be ready. I’m already 27-0, hopefully 28-0 on Saturday, and I think it’s time. I’m hoping and praying for one of those champions to give me an opportunity.”
And if he has his choice, he doesn’t hesitate in his response.
“I would go to the UK and fight Joshua or Tyson Fury.”
It says a lot about Ruiz that he wants to fight England’s Joshua, who is perhaps the most talented of the current group of heavyweight titleholders. But Ruiz isn’t in this to become a just a champion. He wants to be the champion and, in the process, become the first Mexican to win the world heavyweight title.
“That would mean a lot,” he said. “When I was younger, I used to take that for granted and I wouldn’t be working as hard as I should have. But right now, my mind is focused, my eyes are on the prize and I see how close it is. I think I have way more ability than Arreola and I know I can beat any one of these guys. I just need to keep focused and keep training hard and hopefully they agree to fight.”