The bout will put Ruiz back in the ring for the first time in nearly two years since his 12-round draw against Jarrell Miller in August 2024. Hughie, 31, has won eight straight since his 2019 stoppage loss to Alexander Povetkin, but the opposition has been limited, and he has remained far from the contender mix.
“Well, I can start. You messaged me on Instagram, and you said, ‘Hey, I think it would be a good fight if we fight, right?’
“And I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. Send me a contract.’
“Let me know what your promoter, manager, whoever it was because I’m a free agent. But yeah, we agreed. Things are taking longer than usual because of the negotiations about where it’s going to be, who’s going to pitch it, what promoter is going to get it.
“But we’re right here,” Andy Ruiz Jr. said. told Boxing King Media.
Ruiz’s career has never regained momentum after the two massive paydays against Anthony Joshua in 2019. Many fans understood why his activity slowed down after he reportedly made life-changing money from those fights, but the strategy backfired badly.
Rather than constantly rebuilding through activity, Ruiz spent years pursuing only the biggest fights. He has repeatedly called for a third Joshua fight, targeted fights against Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder and allegedly overrated himself during talks for the Wilder fight.
The result was long inactivity and declining relevance in a heavyweight division that continued to move without him.
Hughie’s own career stalled in a different way. He lost decisions to Joseph Parker in 2017 and Kubrat Pulev in 2018 before the Povetkin defeat the following year. Since then, he has remained mostly active against lower-level opposition without taking another big step. His last fight came in November 2025 against the unknown Michael Webster.
“We both want to fight. So, let’s get it on.
“I want the fight. You want it. That’s it. Enough talk. Let’s get the fight going,” Hughie Fury said of his interest in fighting Andy Ruiz Jr.
For Ruiz, the fight carries an uneasy meaning. A former unified heavyweight champion who once seemed positioned for years of big events is now paired with a heavyweight whose biggest career moments remain losses from nearly a decade ago.
