I'd fancy Sanders with his longer reach to get off first. Certainly a prime version of Sanders would be able to whitewash Ruiz from the outside - he was light footed and with a long reach. The devil in the details comes in if Sanders elected to slug with Andy. While I still fancy Sanders here, it's not clear cut. Ruiz has a sturdy beard and blistering combinations of his own. Not the sort of guy you want to have a punch out with.
Having attended both Joshua—Ruiz 1 and Vitali—Sanders, what I think would happen is that Sanders would drill Andy early, probably dropping him, and then beat the crap out of of him to the point of almost getting a tko. Andy’s fighter instincts were ingrained in him since childhood would kick in though and keep him upright and doing just enough rolling with punches, clinching, and punching back to stay in it. The next phase of the fight would feature Sanders gradually getting sloppy and throwing too many punches for his stamina. While he did have better stamina in the 90s than 2000s, it never was that good, and Ruiz’s weight, pressure, and bodywork really tested people. Sanders used to leave his chin out in the air and that prove to be his downfall. Ruiz would clip him with a big left hook that Sanders would be totally unprepared for and then finish him off for a TKO.
Sanders left his chin hanging out there even in the 1990s. He did an Ali impersonation but didn't have Ali's chin.
I actually agree with those favoring Ruiz. While I believe that Sanders was technically the better fighter, Ruiz’s solid chin coupled with Sanders poor stamina is what would be Corrie’s undoing. I think Sanders builds up a lead with his fast hands and superior skills and then fades and gets stopped later.
Ruiz has an iron chin but his power is overrated. I think Sanders could maybe win enough early rounds to take a decision. Both of these guys are inconsistent but this would have potential to be a good fight.
This is an interesting fight because of how naturally talented both were and how fundamentally flawed they both are. Both had super fast hands but I the case of Sanders, he was flawed defensively and Ruiz never seemed to get him self in tye best of physical condition. I lean towards Sanders power being the difference maker but a Ruiz victory wouldn't surprise me either. You just never know with these two guys.