{"id":428074,"date":"2026-01-23T13:08:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428074\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:08:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:08:07","slug":"andy-ruiz-jr-says-his-hardest-fight-was-not-against-anthony-joshua-i-wanted-to-give-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428074\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Ruiz Jr says his hardest fight was not against Anthony Joshua: “I wanted to give up”"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two obvious candidates Andy Ruiz Jr.<\/a> could point to when asked about the toughest fight of his career.<\/p>\n

Born in California, Ruiz represented his Mexican heritage while attempting to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Although he fell short of reaching the sport\u2019s grandest stage, his professional career would hit stratospheric heights more than a decade later.<\/p>\n

After travelling to New Zealand in December 2016 and coming up short in a bid for Joseph Parker\u2019s WBO heavyweight title<\/a>, Ruiz\u2019s fortunes changed dramatically in 2019.<\/p>\n

Drafted in at short notice to replace Jarrell Miller \u2014 who had failed a drugs test \u2014 Ruiz stunned the boxing world by stopping Anthony Joshua in seven rounds at Madison Square Garden to claim three heavyweight world titles.<\/p>\n

Written off beforehand, Ruiz rose from the canvas in a chaotic contest to pull off one of the greatest upsets in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

The messy 12 rounds against Parker on the other side of the world, or the knockdown-filled classic with Joshua<\/a>, would both be understandable choices as Ruiz\u2019s toughest assignment. Instead, that distinction goes to his most recent outing.<\/p>\n

In August 2024, Ruiz (35-2-1, 22 KOs) fought Jarrell Miller to a 12-round draw on the Terence Crawford\u2013Israil Madrimov undercard in Los Angeles. Speaking on a recent livestream, Ruiz explained<\/a> why that punishing encounter stands above all others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t do nothing \u2014 I was surviving. I had one hand from the fifth round all the way to the 12th. That was the hardest fight I ever had in my life. I literally had to survive. There were times I wanted to give up and my dad was like, \u2018F*** no. What do you mean you\u2019re going to give up? There\u2019s only four more rounds left \u2014 come on.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever had to do. When things aren\u2019t going your way in the ring, the hardest thing is changing your style or surviving through those rounds. That\u2019s the toughest thing you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Ruiz or Miller have competed since that clash in August 2024, but \u2018Big Baby\u2019 is set to return on January 31 when he takes on Kingsley Ibeh in New York. Ruiz, meanwhile, has been tentatively linked with Oleksandr Usyk and has also called for a fight with Tyson Fury.<\/p>\n