Ward wasn't known for his power at 168, at heavyweight the big boys would be able to literally walk through his punches to land their own. Even a behemoth like Duhaupas would murder him. It's hard to outbox someone from range when your opponent has literally no respect for your power and you can't hurt him at all. There's a reason why weightclasses exist.
This is true. But Ruiz was a complete joke of a fighter. I don't think jumping a few weight classes and beating him is an impressive feat for an elite fighter.
Ward is not going to HW. Today's HW landscape is the time of the giants. It's not like before. They are all super tall.