Ginny Fuchs celebrates their victory on Saturday, August 31, 2024 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Photo credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom.
Ginny Fuchs had waited far too long, to the point where nothing was going to deny what she believed was her destiny.
Not even something as trivial as a compound broken thumb.
The 2020 US Olympic boxing team captain battled through serious injury to dethrone interim WBC junior bantamweight title holder Adelaida Ruiz. Fuchs prevailed by split decision in their DAZN opener Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I felt it in the first round, it was a hook,” Fuchs told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I thought I just stuck it. Then I took my glove off and I was like, ‘Oh shit.’
Scores were all over the place for their ten-round bout. Judge Jerry Cantu awarded Los Angeles’ Ruiz a score of 97-93. Judges Martha Tremblay (97-93) and Fernando Villareal (a laughable 100-90) scored for Fuchs.
The differences in skills and fighter backgrounds were immediately apparent. Fuchs used constant in-and-out motion and threw punches from various angles. Ruiz is a fighter by trade and stayed in the pocket for much of the fight.
Fuchs’ footwork was the difference in a razor-thin opening round. Ruiz found success with her left hook over the straight left hand from Fuchs. The more telling shots were landed by Ruiz, but she was also exhausted during most of the exchanges.
A demand to double both her jab and straight left hand were the specific instructions given in Fuchs’ corner. ‘The Captain’ soaked in the advice and carried it out into the ring. She threatened to pull away early before Ruiz connected with a right hand and left hook at the end of the fourth.
The sequence served as a much-needed momentum shift for Ruiz, who was enjoying mid-round success. Her uppercut and left hook landed with regularity as there was swelling around Fuchs’ right eye.
Fuchs regained control in the seventh and eight rounds, largely as she returned to striking from corners. Ruiz rode a stiff jab by Fuchs and responded with a sharp uppercut in the ninth. Fuchs boxed on the outside for most of the tenth and final round, believing she had done enough to win the fight.
She was right, on two of the three cards.
“I thought I won,” Fuchs insisted. “I landed the cleaner shots. She is definitely the toughest fighter I have ever come across.”
Fuchs (4-0, 1 KO) was credited with landing 154 of 497 punches (31%) according to Compubox. Ruiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) landed 123-of-460 punches in her first loss. She has held the interim title since 2022, but was attempting her first defense.
The win should give her the right to challenge full WBC junior bantamweight titleholder Asley Gonzalez (16-2, 7 KOs). Fuchs will need to rest and heal her serious wound before pursuing that avenue. Since she didn’t know who held the full title, it wouldn’t matter who she was fighting once she recovered. All that matters is the opportunity to actually fight.
“I just want to keep getting belts,” Fuchs said. “Honestly, I don’t even know who’s holding the other belts in the (115-pound) division. But whoever they are, I’m coming for them all.”
Fuchs-Ruiz opened a five-fight DAZN show headlined by the Diego Pacheco-Maciej Sulecki super middleweight bout.
