Joe Goossen envisions Chris Arreola and Andy Ruiz Jr. giving fans just the type of fight they’ve come to expect at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Arreola’s trainer anticipates an all-action battle when these Mexican-American heavyweights meet in the main event of a four-fight FOX Sports Pay-Per-View show in Carson, California. The 31-year-old Ruiz is a 25-1 favorite, yet Goossen thinks their friendly rivalry and fans in attendance will bring the best out of the 40-year-old Arreola.
A sizable crowd will be allowed at the revered venue once known as Home Depot Center for this 10-fight card. It’ll be the first boxing show with fans in California since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
“I think if there’s one thing that’s really obvious and apparent here, both of these guys stepped it up,” Goossen said during a press conference Wednesday. “They stepped up their game. They’re probably both in the best shape they’ve ever been. They’re gonna give the fans – see, if they were exciting fighters before reaching the pinnacle of what they’re doing right now, in terms of conditioning, imagine what it’s gonna be Saturday night. I just think it’s gonna be really a fight for the ages, one that you’re not gonna forget.
“They both wanna win. That’s number one. They both wanna win. And they both worked really hard at it. And they’re both big, strong, hard-hitting heavyweights. I mean, those are ingredients for a great fight and a great night. And that’s what I think we’re gonna see Saturday night.”
Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs), of Imperial, California, will fight for the first time since he lost the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO belts back to Anthony Joshua in their 12-round rematch 16 months ago. England’s Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) completely out-boxed Ruiz in their second fight, which took place in December 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs, 2 NC), of Riverside, California, will end an even longer layoff. He hasn’t fought since Adam Kownacki (20-1, 15 KOs) beat him by unanimous decision in a fan-friendly fight in August 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Kownacki’s hometown.
The Ruiz-Arreola undercard will feature a 12-round welterweight bout between Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-1-1, 19 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, and Abel Ramos (26-4-2, 20 KOs), of Casa Grande, Arizona. In the bout before the co-feature, unbeaten junior middleweight contender Sebastian Fundora (16-0-1, 11 KOs), of Coachella, California, will meet Mexico’s Jorge Cota (30-4, 27 KOs) in a 12-rounder.
In the 10-round opener of this pay-per-view show (9 p.m. ET; $49.99), undefeated welterweight prospect Jesus Ramos (15-0, 14 KOs) is scheduled to encounter Javier Molina (22-3, 9 KOs), of Norwalk, California.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
