Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. is using his massive platform to help the youth boxing grow in Nigeria, Africa.
The ‘gofundme’ platform has raised over $1000 and is working their way towards their goal of $3000. Given the mainstream attention that Andy Ruiz Jr. now garners, there’s no doubt that’s helped the cause in a massive way.
He has endeared himself to the fans within the combat sports community with his affable and altruistic nature. Moreover, he’s always been known to be a man and fighter of the people as seen in the aftermath of his victory. Ruiz Jr. was proud to be the first fighter of Mexican heritage to be the world heavyweight champion. Not to mention, he celebrated with the people of his country in a massive way upon defeating Anthony Joshua in their first outing.
‘Destroyer’ last stepped foot inside the ring in a losing effort to Anthony Joshua back in December of 2019. Almost a year removed, he is still without the comeback fight that he had set his sights on. All his heavyweight contemporaries have managed to secure another lucrative booking, at the very least.
The global pandemic severely hindered his ability to secure the box office fight that would put him back into the mix. Although he has been involved in some moving pieces during the course of the pandemic. A fight against Mahmood Chaar and a move towards training with Canelo’s coach Eddy Reynoso has been part of his recent narrative, to name a few.
Andy Ruiz Jr. will need to scalp a highlight level KO finish in order to make up for lost time in the division. The landscape of the heavyweight division continues to advance quickly and high-level fighters are all vying for contention, creating a bottleneck at the top. He has been unfortunately sidelined, but a statement win would be the catalyst to inject him back into the title landscape.
–essentiallysports.com
