By Miguel Rivera
After becoming the unified heavyweight champion by stopping Anthony Joshua in seven rounds on June 1, Andy Ruiz is pushing to have the rematch take place in Mexico so that his fans can see him.
"The entire [Mexican] race has supported me a lot and it feels good. I don't want to say that they love me, but I am very proud of everything. We are already in talks with them to fight here in Mexico City," Ruiz said.
"I worked and suffered a lot to get where I am right now. Everything is possible, I asked God for help and worked hard. Ask God for help and see how this chubby fighter came to be something."
Ruiz stopped Joshua in the seventh, after dropping the British boxer down to the mat for the fourth time in the contest.
The victory provided Ruiz with the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA world titles.
There is only one more belt remaining, the WBC belt currently held by Deontay Wilder.
Ruiz plans to topple Joshua in the rematch and then speak to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman about fighting Wilder, who himself will return in the fall for a rematch of his own, against Luis Ortiz.
"I think I can win that belt, it is the only thing I have left to capture. First I have to win the rematch in December. Then we'll talk to Sulaiman to see if we can make that fight," Ruiz said.
Ruiz explained that his career began to turn for the better when he left Top Rank and signed on with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions.
"I had to buy out my contract. I was a bit sad at the time because they did not give me fights. Since then I've signed with PBC and they have brought me fights and thank God I got the opportunity for the world championship," Ruiz said.
"The negotiations with Joshua are going well. There will be a fight but we are working to see where it can happen.... maybe here in Mexico , in the United States or if they want to do it in their land (in the UK). That rematch is still worth 50 million or more. Filling the Estadio Azteca would be historic."