Via Allan Fox: Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz predicted a knockout victory over former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr on September 4 during their match on the FOX Sports PBC pay-per-view at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.
(Image source: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions)
The two major heavyweights met earlier today on Wednesday during the Los Angeles kick-off press conference for their match on September 4.
Ruiz looks to be in good shape, returning from knee surgery that has kept him out of the ring for the past 14 months. Ruiz will be out for 16 months by the time he faces Ortiz in September.
For Ruiz, that equates to him, as he had been out of the ring for 17 months the last time he fought a year ago with journeyman Chir Arreola.
The lack of habitual activity for Ruiz is a problem, as it seems that he has lost his sense of hunger after earning a large amount of money. 10 million dollars for his two fights with Anthony Joshua. When someone owns a fortune, you can’t blame them for not continuing to work like before.
Although the 43-year-old, two-time world champion Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) is 11 years older than 32-year-old Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs), he is very concerned about his health and does not continuously gain weight to 300s due to overeating.
In terms of physical health, Ortiz took better care of himself than Ruiz, and for that reason, he didn’t have to lose so much weight.
Ruiz looked emaciated in her final bout after falling from the 310 lb zone to 256 lbs because of a bout against 40-year-old Chris Arreola the previous year in May.
“My main goal right now is to win on September 4,” Luis Ortiz said at Wednesday’s press conference. “Afterall, I’ll see who crawls out and step up. So far, there have not been too many people at the elite level.”
“This fight will end in a knockout. I’m sure Andy thinks so too. Ortiz said.
Some boxing fans believe that Ruiz’s resistance to punches has disappeared due to excessive weight loss. He lost almost 70 lbs of fat, and when you lose that kind of weight, it will work for you.
Even losing 30 lbs can weaken the fighter. It’s hard to imagine Ruiz being able to lose weight and be able to compete at the level he’s used to. Ruiz’s weight loss may have destroyed his career.
Like Samson, who lost his strength after cutting his hair, Ruiz lost something from his match after shedding a ton of weight.
“I think this is a similar fight for me with Anthony Joshua; it’s just that he’s a good guy,” said Ruiz. “We have a great team and we are working hard. September 4th will be a battle of hell.
“This may not go too far, but I am prepared to go all 12 rounds. We will get this win no matter what on September 4th.”
