Real name Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr.
Nickname(s) The Destroyer
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Reach 74 in (188 cm)[1]
Nationality
United States
Mexico
Born September 11, 1989 (age 29)
Imperial, California, U.S.[2][3]
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 34
Wins 33
Wins by KO 22
Losses 1
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Who is Andy Ruiz Jr. ?
Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. is a professional Mexican-American boxer, (born September 11, 1989), also known as Andy Ruiz Jr., In June 2019 he scored a major upset by defeating Anthony Joshua to win the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles. In doing so, Ruiz became the first boxer of Mexican heritage to become a world heavyweight champion.
As of June 2019, Ruiz is ranked as the world’s best active heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and BoxRec, and third by The Ring magazine.
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Early years
Ruiz was born in Imperial, California; his parents had immigrated to the US from Mexico. His father is a former construction worker who started his own business flipping houses.
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Ruiz had a passion for baseball before his father got him into boxing; he has noted that his first fight was at age seven in San Diego. Ruiz later worked for his father in construction for a time before deciding to become a full-time boxer and starting his amateur career in Mexico. His grandfather owned a boxing gym in Mexicali that was used by featherweight champion Jorge Páez.
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Ruiz has explained that his nickname, ‘Destroyer’, was acquired before he started boxing, because as a child, “I was always destroying stuff.
When Ruiz was 19-year-old Ruiz made his professional debut on March 28, 2009, at the Plaza de Toros in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, in a four-round bout against Miguel Ramirez.
Ruiz won the fight via a first-round KO. Ruiz fought again after three months at the same venue, this time knocking Ross Brantley down three times in round 1, winning the bout via TKO. Ruiz took an eight-month gap before he returned to the ring in February 2010, winning a four-round unanimous decision against Juan Luis Lopez Alcaraz.
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A month later, Ruiz made his American debut at the Gaylord Hotel in Texas, knocking out Luke Vaughn in round 1. Ruiz had his next three fights of 2010 also in the US, defeating Miles Kelly via knockout, Raymond Lopez via unanimous decision and Francisco Diaz via knockout.
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On February 5, 2011, Ruiz knocked out Kelsey Arnold in the third round and in the same month defeated Alvaro Morales via unanimous decision 59–55, 59–55, and 60–54.[14] In April 2011, Ruiz defeated Angel Herrera via a six-round unanimous decision.
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In July, Ruiz fought at the Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, defeating Villi Bloomfield via fourth-round TKO.[15] He returned to the Casino on December 7 and defeated Elijah McCall (11–1–1, 10 KOs), son of former world champion Oliver McCall, by a TKO one second before round 3 ended. Kenny Bayless, the referee, stopped the fight after McCall stopped defending himself. Ruiz’s hand speed was showcased in this fight.
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On March 23, 2012, Ruiz fought his first eight-round fight, outpointing Homero Fonseca (80–72) on all three judges scorecards. In July, Ruiz fought Jonte Willis (8–3–1, 3 KOs) at the Home Depot Center, Carson, California. Willis entered with a record of 1–3–1 in his previous five fights, including a split decision loss three months prior to Denis Bakhtov (33–7).
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Ruiz floored Willis in round 5 from a short right hand before referee Wayne Hedgpeth stopped the bout in round 8, after a combination on unanswered punches. This was on the undercard of Donaire vs. Mathebula.
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He defeated the unbeaten Anthony Joshua on 1st June 2019.
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Ruiz Olympic & Amateur career
During his amateur career, Ruiz boxed to a 105–5 record under Cuban trainer Fernando Ferrer. His 105 wins include two Mexican National Junior Olympics gold medals[9] and a title at the Ringside World Championships.
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Ruiz also represented Mexico in two 2008 Beijing Olympic Games qualification tournaments, losing to eventual Olympians Robert Alfonso of Cuba and Oscar Rivas of Colombia in the first and second qualifiers.
Ruiz’s parents were born in Mexico, making Ruiz eligible to represent Mexico
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World Championships 2007
Lost to Michael Hunter (United States) RSCO-3
Pre-Olympic Tournament results
2007
Lost to Zhang Zhilei (China) 28-9
Mexican National Championships results
2008
Defeated Jose Luis Castro (Mexico) RSC-3
Defeated Yusett Savala (Mexico) 12–0
Defeated Juan Isidro Hiracheta (Mexico) AB-2
USA vs Mexico results
2008
Lost to Mike Wilson (United States) 16–9
American Olympic Qualifications results
2008
Defeated Gerardo Bisbal (Puerto Rico) 24-7
Lost to Robert Alfonso (Cuba) 7-3
American Olympic Qualifications results
2008
Defeated German Sandi (Costa Rica) RSC-1
Lost to Óscar Rivas (Colombia) 16-4
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Ruiz Professional career
Ruiz had Freddie Roach in his corner and at the Wild Card Gym and sparred with former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. Ruiz fought largely journeymen opposition earlier in his career but did knock out two amateur stars in 2006 US amateur champion Jonte Willis and 2008 Golden Gloves champion Tor Hamer.
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Andy Ruiz Jr. – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce
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Andy Ruiz Jr. is married to his longtime girlfriend. Although he has not revealed much about his marriage, relationship it is known that he is happy with his wife.
But we do know that he is a father of four children. He has two daughters and two sons. His older daughter is named Bella Ruiz, the older son is named Andy Ruiz III, the younger son is named Richie Ruiz and his youngest child is named Beverly Ruiz.
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Andy Ruiz Income and Net Worth
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And Ruiz can expect to take a much bigger purse when he defends the titles later in the year.
Prior to delivering one of boxing’s biggest ever shocks, Ruiz’s net worth was estimated at around £770,000 by Spike Daily.
His previous biggest purse was that same figure for his loss to Joseph Parker in 2017.
Andy earned $200,000. When he beat Anthony Joshua, his total income including Pay Per View and win bonus topped $7 million.
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Andy Ruiz Welcomes A new Rolls Royce to his Family – watch video below:
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