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Andy Ruiz Not Concerned About Ring Rust Ahead of Fight With Jarrell Miller

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Image: Andy Ruiz Unconcerned About Ring Rust for Jarrell Miller Fight

Andy Ruiz Jr. isn’t worried about ring rust ahead of his Aug. 3 clash with Jarrell Miller at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Former unified heavyweight champion Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) has been out of the ring for nearly two years since his last fight with 43-year-old Luis Ortiz on Sept. 4, 2022.

Ruiz has struggled with inactivity since cashing in on his two fights with Anthony Joshua in 2019. He made a lot of money off those fights with AJ, and has only fought twice since then, defeating two 40-year-olds in Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz.

Now, Ruiz is fighting another older fighter, 36-year-old Jarrell Miller, after a long layoff, and he feels like his time away from the ring won’t affect him. Maybe not.

Whether Ruiz wants to admit it or not, his inactivity has become a pattern throughout his career over the past five years, and it’s clear he has no motivation or ambition to stay lively. Perhaps the only reason he’s returning now is because he’s been lured by a nice payday from His Excellency.

Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs) lost a 10th-round knockout to Daniel Dubois on December 23. Other than that fight, he has yet to face a major heavyweight in his 15-year professional career.

Ruiz says he wants to get a win over Miller on the undercard of His Excellency Turki Alalshikha in Riyadh on Aug. 3, then fight in December. He wants to fight a massive enough name to move up the rankings and fight for a world title.

Some fans believe the 34-year-old Ruiz is aiming for another massive payday rather than a world title shot, which seems unlikely given how infrequently he has fought since 2019. Ruiz is pursuing a trilogy fight with Anthony Joshua.

If that happens, Ruiz could fill his bank account, which is already brimming with $10 million from his two fights with AJ. How much money Ruiz has left after five years is unclear. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was near bankruptcy. Hence his sudden burst of energy to return to the ring after another long layoff.

“That’s what I thought” [40-year-old] Chris Arreola. That’s what I thought. [43-year-old] Luis Ortiz, but I felt a little excited,” Andy Ruiz Jr. said. Fight Center TV whether he has concerns about his inactivity over the past five years, having only fought twice since 2019.

It’s pretty obvious that Ruiz’s lack of activity didn’t affect him in his last two fights against Arreola and Luis Ortiz. Those guys were in their 40s and nowhere near their prime, they were in their prime.

If Ruiz had fought a youthful, top heavyweight in his last two fights, he would have struggled. As it is, Ruiz had trouble beating Arreola and Ortiz. He was knocked down by Arreola and lost almost every round to Ortiz. He only won that fight because he knocked the 43-year-old down three times.

“Of course, when you’re busier, you’re sharper, but we’ve been training a lot,” Sid Ruiz said. “We’ve been practicing a lot with gloves. We’ve been sparring a lot. I feel like my speed and combinations are going to be there. [for the Jarrell Miller fight on August 3rd].”

Ruiz sounds like a cheater. You don’t stay in shape hitting the gloves when you’ve been out of the ring for two years. That’s not going to keep any fighter at the top of his game after 23 months of inactivity.

Ruiz can avoid the inactivity penalty in this fight because he is facing Jarrell Miller, who is nowhere near the top level. Against a good heavyweight, Ruiz’s years of inactivity could hurt him.

“We will achieve this victory. I am not too afraid of inaction [two-year layoff since last fight in 2022]. I’m ecstatic to be back in action. This is just the beginning. This is my peak form,” Ruiz said.

If Turki Alalshikh hadn’t lured Ruiz back with a good payday, he’d probably still be sitting idle because he doesn’t want to fight for money.

“He opens up a lot. I’m a really good counterpuncher. He comes forward,” Ruiz said of Jarrell Miller’s vulnerability on defense. “But that’s the plan, to get him out of there and move on to the next one. I want to win and hopefully fight in December.”

Ruiz is a powerhouse, and Miller could beat him in this fight with activity if he doesn’t get knocked down or knocked down multiple times. Ruiz doesn’t have the fuel to handle the improved endurance of a fit Jarrell Miller.

“He’s a massive guy, he throws a lot of bombs and he’s got his waiting,” Ruiz said of Miller. “I see a lot of flaws in him. He opens up a lot. I feel like my combinations, my speed, my timing, the counters that I throw, that’s going to make a difference in this fight,” Ruiz said.

Miller looked hazardous in the first six rounds with Dubois and would have outboxed him had he not faded in the second half of the fight. He fought well considering he entered the fight weighing 333 pounds and looking morbidly obese. Ruiz will have a huge problem with Miller if he is in better shape on Aug. 3, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he lost.

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Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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