Arum: Trump Thought of Andy Ruiz When He Said 'Bad Hombre'
By Edward Chaykovsky
The details are still being worked out for the mandatory fight between Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) and Andy Ruiz (29-0, 19 KOs).
Last week, the World Boxing Organization approved Parker vs. Ruiz for the vacant WBO heavyweight crown.
The fight is tentative for December 10th in New Zealand, but there are issues with securing government funding to stage the event in Parker's country. If Parker's promoter, Duco Events, is unable to get the funding - then Ruiz's promoter Top Rank will stage the fight in the United States.
Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, has been taking digs at presidential candidate Donald Trump throughout his campaign. He takes issue with some of Trump's anti-Mexican sentiments, but also uses Trump's comments as a vehicle to gain further exposure for some of his Mexican talent like Ruiz.
Arum is confident with Ruiz's ability to beat Parker, who would be favored by the oddsmakers to win. Even if Parker secures the homefield advantage, Arum doesn't see that making a big difference in the outcome. The veteran promoter credits Ruiz's hand speed as playing a major factor in the fight. Parker is not exactly slow himself and both fighters can bang.
"The fastest hands in the west," Arum said of Ruiz in an interview with USA Today. "That's who Donald Trump was thinking about when he said bad hombre."
"(Matchmakers) Bruce (Trampler) and Brad (Goodman) give him a helluva shot and Abel thinks that he can do it. Those are the guys that are important, not a schmuck like me. I'm a business person in boxing, I rely on my matchmakers. and they all believe Andy has a hell of a shot. It would be great, particularly to have the first Mexican heavyweight champion in history, you know how huge that would be in Mexico? The president (Enrique Peña Nieto) would ban Trump from the country."
