The battle of the scales: Andy Ruiz vs. Chris Arreola

Particulars: Saturday, May 1, 2021 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson California, it’s: Andy ‘Destroyer’ Ruiz, Jr. vs. Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola. The bad news, it’s a Fox Sports PPV and costs an incredible $49.95.

Background: Time flies! Twelve ffin’ years ago, Chris Arreola was a likeable rising star; powerful, skilled, sorta quick. He was hyped and hyped and he believed the hype until he didn’t. He didn’t when he fought Vitali Klitschko whose universe of hard shots from strange angles were just more than he could handle. When he started waving his arm around to prove it was injured, you knew it was “put the fork in” time – Arreola was done. As I stated in Maxboxing.com in 2016, Arreola’s love of food and beer is really a ready-made excuse for a guy who knows he’s just south of championship material. It ain’t his weight that caused him to retire in his corner vs. Klit and Wilder.

Enter Andy Ruiz, a more talented version of Chris but same sort of neighborhood and reasonably matching back story. This dude WHAT? … beat Joshua in NY, NY in a fight as uncomfortable for the Londoner as a vicar at the Mustang Ranch.

Joshua wanted no part of The Big Apple before, during and after his TKO loss. Dillian Whyte boldly said it was because Ant didn’t have access to PEDs in New York as he does in the UK. Fans may hate Dillian, but he’s not the only one who thinks so – including an M.D. world’s authority on PEDs. Andy Ruiz, packing very fast hands, great chin and IMHO, more heart than Arreola, took some hellacious shots, but hung in there until his time came. When it came, he absolutely demolished Joshua.

Then Ruiz ate himself, a la Arreola, into oblivion before a rematch that would have ultimately made him 20 million minimum, had he prevailed. And unthinkable riches thereafter.

Disgustingly overweight, a career-high 283 pounds for the rematch – STILL, Ruiz briefly had Ant in deep trouble in the eighth. Joshua immediately lost his nerve, POOF! For a brief moment, AJ’s career passed before his and Hearn’s eyes.

Ruiz tried to finish the job but his fat body meant his follow-up shots missed by fractions. 2-3 more shots and the whole House of Joshua – the “gold medal” the legend, the applause… eight years of Hearn-Hype, goes down the drain. Missing follow up shots on Joshua by literally an inch cost the man from Imperial California - beyond dearly. One inch more conditioning and Ruiz and beloved family would be sleeping on silk sheets and dining out for the rest of their lives. What champion balloons to 283, is late to camp, and unfocused in that camp? That would be Ruiz. To his credit, he admitted as much post-fight.

You don’t have to be Freud to see that like Arreola, Ruiz didn’t have that essential champion self-belief and gave himself an excuse-“I ate too much.” Nah. For both Arreola, the old man, and Ruiz, the relatively young guy – the problem is between the ears – not around the belt line.

Fighter’s Grades: (Speed, Power, Defense, Reach, Age, Stamina, Experience)

Andy Ruiz: B+ B+ B- C+ B- B+ B+ (Average of all) B (3.0)

Chris Arreola: B- B+ B- C+ C- B- A (Average of all) B- (2.8)

Reality Check: Weeks ago, April 14, Boo-Boo Andrade just missed the chance to prove he’s “most avoided” in a good fight against Liam Williams. But he busted his ass trying and was a total class act after the final bell.

This is Ruiz’s Andrade moment – go out and end Arreola’s career. In the unforgiving way of boxing, Ruiz, a younger lion, needs to run Arreola right off the plain and out of the sport. He needs to come like never before, exploding those amazingly quick combinations. Forget Chris’s moderate advantages in size/reach and huge advantage in experience.

Arreola is Colt/Winchester/Smith &Wesson. He is irredeemably shot. We may like him and respect him – great guy – but that doesn’t change the facts. Being KOed might save his middle and old age health, in fact, if he retires after this fight.

Fight and prediction: Both men were born with speed, but Arreola’s quick days are back in the early part of Obama 1! His reach is longer, sure and he’s taller. The duo sparred years ago and Chris said he realized just how quick the fat teenaged Ruiz was. Ruiz is still that quick. Just ask Joshua.

NOTHING less than a very impressive KO can plug Ruiz’s leaking boat. Then I’d love to see him fight Wilder: winner has exciting prospects, loser is done.

Opportunity knocks and if you don’t answer the damn door – it moves onto another. Regardless of what happens and given his modest size by today’s super-heavyweight standard - no matter what Andy Ruiz does from here on out, it’s sadly probably not enough. Opportunity didn’t know his address before Joshua 1 and Ruiz ignored its knock before the rematch.

Opportunity done gone on to somebody else’s door. And opportunity won’t be charging $50 bucks like this PPV.

Andy Ruiz TKO Chris Arreola 10.