Strengths: Very fast hands, very heavy and wide, durable and fast recovery, decent stamina, great combination puncher, good counter puncher, good body puncher, good at finding the temple in exchanges with either hand, applies pressure, rough and sneaky on the inside, mentally robust, composed and determined, good fighting instincts, very experienced (amateur and pro, first Mexican world heavyweight champion) very unusual attributes and style, his heritage, stature, babyface and morbid obesity put additional mental pressure on the opponent, especially if the opponent is a narcissistic bodybuilder Weaknesses: Very short, stubby arms, underpowered (no stoppage wins since June 2019, historically failed to stop a litany of journeymen on the front foot) slow feet, not very elusive, poor discipline, success has reduced his desire, there’s a clear blueprint how to beat him, no longer easy to underestimate
Discipline has been a major problem for Ruiz (never more so than in the Joshua rematch) but I don't think he would have beaten AJ in the first place (or even remained in the sport long-term: if it's a choice between KFC and boxing, Ruiz would have chosen KFC) without being morbidly obese, similar to how Toney needed the fat suit to have any success at HW. The super fat gave Ruiz extra power, strength and durability without seriously compromising his stamina or agility as the excess muscle did for AJ and it made AJ think on one level "this guy is a joke" while at the same time making AJ DESPERATELY AFRAID of losing to a fat blob. I believe that the cognitive dissonance affected the low IQ AJ very badly, further sowing the seeds of his downfall.
