Hugo Ruiz: Don't Be Surprised When I Knock Out Ceja

By Jake Donovan

The moment was so close that Hugo Ruiz could practically envision hoisting the super bantamweight title over his head. The hard-hitting contender from Mexico landed a clean counter left hook to floor countryman Julio Ceja, moving in for the kill moments later in their vacant title fight last August in Los Angeles.

A knockout ending was on Ruiz’ mind and eventually would come – just not the manner in which he preferred. Ceja took more than a round to fully recover and turned the tide, but did so in a big way once that moment arrived. A devastating left hook of his own late in round five proved to be the beginning of the end for Ruiz, who was left defenseless from an ensuing rally before the referee jumped in to stop the fight.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the now 29-year old contender, but at the same time provided him with the confidence that a more favorable result can come with a few tweaks and a second chance. He gets a grand opportunity at redemption when the two square off again this weekend at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“I learned my lesson the hard way with that knockout loss,” Ruiz (35-3, 31KOs) told BoxingScene.com ahead of their rematch this weekend, which airs live on Showtime. “The loss was not the end of my career, however, as I’m right back fighting for the championship. This time, I am mentally and physically 100% ready and not taking anything for granted.”

Those who are expecting a makeover from Ruiz needn’t hold their breath. The veteran contender knows who he is and plans a similar mode of attack, the same way he’s fought throughout his nine-year career. It nearly netted him a bantamweight title, only to come up short in a disputed decision to Koki Kameda in their Dec. ’12 clash, but has otherwise worked for the most part.

It worked well versus Ceja… until it didn’t. The lesson learned was that not every opponent who goes down will stay down, though a lesson you tend to learn the hard after having stopped 31 of 38 career foes.

With that comes Ruiz’ game plan for this weekend: more of the same, but better.

The physical part of his training camp remained intact for the most part, but has opted to train in Guadalajara – far away from his Los Mochis hometown as to avoid any distractions.

“We set up camp (in Guadalajar) to focus completely on what I want to do in this fight, as well as any adjustments we need to make,” Ruiz noted. “It would be foolish to go out there and fight the same exact way as we did in the first fight, but at the same time plan to secure victory by being aggressive, not from running.

“This time will be different because I feel better than in the first fight. I know it will take a perfect fight to beat a great fighter like “Pollito” Ceja, but that's what I plan to bring. Don't be surprised when I knock him out.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox