{"id":683677,"date":"2026-07-10T05:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T05:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/683677\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T05:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T05:15:16","slug":"andy-ruiz-jr-inks-shock-deal-with-eddie-hearn-ahead-of-imminent-comeback-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/683677\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Ruiz Jr inks shock deal with Eddie Hearn ahead of imminent comeback fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Ruiz Jr has signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing ahead of his long-awaited return to the ring.<\/p>\n

There had been rumours that the Mexican-American boxer was heading to the Dana White-fronted Zuffa Boxing<\/a>, but Matchroom announced today that they have won the race for Ruiz Jr’s signature.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Andy Ruiz Jr has joined forces with Matchroom after stunning their superstar client, Anthony Joshua, in 2019Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr famously upset Anthony Joshua<\/a> in June 2019 to snatch the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles from Matchroom’s cash cow.<\/p>\n

Now, in a full-circle moment, Ruiz Jr has joined forces with his former rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy and thankful for signing with Matchroom and taking another step forward to continue my mission and to become a two-time champion of the world for Mexico,\u201d said\u00a0Ruiz Jr. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe everything happens for a reason, and I\u2019m so grateful God is giving me a second opportunity to do everything right. <\/p>\n

READ MORE ON MMA <\/p>\n

“Sometimes God breaks you to make you a better person and a better fighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made history with Matchroom and the DAZN, and best believe we are going to do it again in God almighty\u2019s name, amen baby, let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to all my coaches for still believing in me, we are going to make a big statement in the Heavyweight division.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did Eddie Hearn say?<\/p>\n

Hearn added: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to welcome Andy to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Heavyweight landscape is always evolving, and a fully fit and firing Andy Ruiz Jr<\/a>. is a nightmare for anyone in the division.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy shocked the world in New York with his stunning victory over AJ, and if \u2018The Destroyer\u2019 from that night returns to the ring, there is no doubt he can become a two-time World champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eddie<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Eddie Hearn believes a fully motivated Ruiz Jr can become a two-time heavyweight world championCredit: Mark Robinson\/Matchroom\"His<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

His next fight is close to being signed with Poland’s Damian KnybaCredit: GettyWho is Andy Ruiz Jr fighting next?<\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr (35-2-1) has not competed since his contentious draw with Jarrell Miller<\/a> in August 2024.<\/p>\n

Matchroom want to get their new signing back into the ring as soon as possible, with a fight against Polish heavyweight Damian Knyba close to being finalised for September 4 in Newark, New Jersey.<\/a><\/p>\n

Knyba (17-1) suffered the first defeat of his professional career last time out in January to newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion<\/a> Agit Kabayel.<\/p>\n

He had signed to face Kacper Meyna on October 3 for the Republic of Poland heavyweight title.<\/p>\n

talkSPORT.com understands that Pior Lacz will likely fight Meyna instead. <\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr and Knyba will, meanwhile, headline a card that includes an exciting co-feature attraction between two well-ranked middleweights in Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams and Vito Mielnicki Jr. <\/p>\n

Watch Boxing on DAZN<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue<\/p>\n

Sign up to DAZN<\/a> to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.<\/p>\n

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate<\/a> from just \u00a324.99\/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, DAZN Standard<\/a> is just \u00a315.99\/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.<\/p>\n

Click here to sign up<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Ruiz Jr has signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing ahead of his long-awaited return to the ring.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[105256,2560,6102,101968,6572,22630,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-683677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-andy-ruiz-jr","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-damian-knyba","tag-eddie-hearn","tag-matchroom","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}