Andy Ruiz To Face Danny Batchelder on January 16th
By Francisco Salazar
Heavyweight Andy Ruiz will fight veteran Danny Batchelder on January 16 in Dallas, Tex., Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman told BoxingScene.com.
Also in action will be unbeaten junior lightweight Erick De Leon fighting Fidel Navarrete. Both fights are scheduled for eight rounds and will take air on UniMas, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/ PT.
Middleweight Matt Korobov will also appear on the Top Rank card, but in an off-TV bout.
Ruiz (26-0, 17 KOs) is coming off an eight round unanimous decision victory over Raphael Zambrano Love on October 24 in Omaha, Neb.
While he was won his last three bouts by decision, Ruiz received much criticism for appearing out of shape up to last year. In his December 20, 2014 bout in Phoenix, Ariz., Ruiz weighed 276 3/4 pounds.
Ruiz reportedly spent much of this past summer in Big Bear Lake, Calif. where he slimmed down considerably. He weighed around 248 pounds in his last two bouts.
Batchelder (31-11-1, 15 KOs) has lost his last to bouts in a row, both by knockout. The 39-year-old had won his previous six bouts in a row.
De Leon (11-0, 5 KOs) won a one-sided six round decision over Angel Hernandez in his last bout on September 11 in Las Vegas.
In his last bout on September 26, Navarrete (8-1-2, 4 KOs) lost a 10 round unanimous decision to Ronell Green in Wheeling, W.V.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
