Andy Ruiz is overrated. He is the next Hasim Rahman

People give him too much credit for beating Joshua, and i won't lie to you, i was the same. Ever since he beat Joshua i've been making out Ruiz as this David Tua 2.0 with even quicker hands. But the truth is he as a gatekeeper level fighter. He got dropped and rocked by shot to bits Arreola and couldn't even put him away, he lost to glorified gatekeeper Parker, the same Parker who lost to Whyte and should have lost to Chsiora.

What happened on the night wasn't luck, what happened was Ruiz just timed a perfect hook to AJ's porcelain temple and the rest is history. Just like how barley world level Hasim Rahman knocked out Lewis but got dominated in the immediate rematch.

Ruiz gets wiped out by Wilder, looses to Parker again, possibly looses to Chisora, Looses to Luis Ortiz, Looses to Usyk, Looses to Fury, Looses to Hunter, Looses to Pulev, Looses to Joyce and goes 50/50 in the ring with Rivas and Whyte.

Oh BTW Tua would destroy Ruiz and Tua himself is overrated

 

Ruiz is very talented but his motivation falls well short of talent level.

 

You could make an argument he should have been WBO champion as many think he got robbed in the Parker fight.

He was a solid heavyweight contender with plenty of potential but let down by his lack of dedication.

 

I think he needs the killer instinct, he lacks fire in him, he is too kind and nice, like a kid that just ate cookie

 

Don’t disparage Hasim Rahman by comparing him to that fat pig Ruiz. Rahman was a decent heavyweight

 

Not sure he's even as good as Rahman to be fair, only similarity is they both faced unfocused champions to win the titles.

Andy Ruiz has a very narrow skill set. You stand in front of him and throw you risk getting KO'ed and even then as his fights with Arreola and even Tor Hamer showed he can leave his chin exposed and be easily caught. If you have the chin to trade with him you have a lot of success landing as Arreola showed and even Joshua showed the one time he stepped inside he dropped Ruiz Jr but didn't have the chin to stay there and trade.

Show Ruiz some movement, a good jab and he's befuddled. His handlers should be careful who they match him with, no decent out boxers, no durable types with any power.

 

Everyone with a good jab and a little movement will outpoint Ruiz jr. , he is nothing special.

 

I think now it is fair to say Ruiz, Parker and Whyte are all around the same level.

And that level is Chisora's level.

 

Joshua needs to fight him again and knock him out really.

 

Which makes you wonder how bad this era really is if someone like Chisora who was gate keeper/fringe contender level back in his prime is now able to compete competitively with some of the top 10 guys now when past his prime.

 

To be fair, Chisora is one of those guys who seems to have got a bit better in certain areas in his old age. His workrate has dropped, but he seems a lot harder hitting and better at landing his shots than the earlier iteration, who'd often slap and cuff with his punches. He's not as likely to just swarm fighters, but he's much more likely to hurt them with a big OH right, and he also seems a bit more motivated than the often lethargic version we used to see around five years back.

 

Yes, he's always been very limited in what he does well. Fast hands, a decent chin and some decent power makes him difficult to in-fight with unless you can smother or shut him down, but he's absolutely useless on the outside when forced to close distance.

All of this was very evident since at least the Parker fight, probably earlier, and it hasn't changed. He'll struggle to beat anyone in the top ten again and likely go down as the one hit wonder we've seen so many times in the past.

 

Ruiz fights better when he's in the 260 range. Joshua has probably broke his punch resistance. Similar to how Sam Peter was getting dropped after Wlad. And Stiverne was getting dropped to the likes of Derrick Rossy. That come forward style doesn't last very long, against other huge behemoths in the heavyweight division. Too much damage sustained against these 230lb plus monsters, it takes it's toll.

 

You only say that because he KOd LL and you have to.

 

This Chisora of the last 2-3 years is the best version we've seen. He's had somewhat of an Indian summer to his career particularly since linking up with Haye and taking training more seriously.