Andy Ruiz Jr will make his long-awaited return against Anthony Joshua’s rival Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller as Riyadh’s season hosts its first card in the United States.
Former unified world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr will face Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller in Los Angeles on August 3 after his two-year absence from the ring.
Ruiz hasn’t fought since beating Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision in September 2022, but he will return to the canvas in California later this year.
The heavyweight fight will take place under the card of Terence Crawford’s clash with WBA light-middleweight world champion Israil Madrimov.
Vergil Ortiz vs. Tim Tszyu, Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela, David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic and Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran will also feature on the card.
The event will be presented by Riyadh Season under the leadership of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA).
Former unified world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz will face Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller in Los Angeles on August 3 after his two-year absence from the ring.
Ruiz stunned the world by defeating Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden in 2019
In an astonishing seven rounds in New York, Ruiz beat Joshua to reach the top of the sport
Ruiz became the first heavyweight of Mexican descent to become a unified heavyweight champion when he won the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA belts against Anthony Joshua in 2019.
Ruiz was not originally supposed to fight Joshua, but was given the opportunity after his original opponent – Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller – failed three drug tests in the build-up to the fight.
Ruiz only held AJ’s belts for six months, with the British boxing star recovering from a shock first professional defeat to reclaim his belts in Saudi Arabia in December of that year.
Joshua scored a 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 points victory over Ruiz – who weighed in at 283 pounds, 15 pounds heavier than their first fight.
Ruiz has only fought twice since then, most recently in the ring in September 2022 – defeating Cuban boxer Ortiz by unanimous decision.
This victory saw the WBC order a fight between Ruiz and Deontay Wilder as the final eliminator to determine Tyson Fury’s mandatory challenger.
However, title elimination did not materialize – with the Bronze Bomber instead looking for alternative options.
The Mexican of American origin will look to return to victory on August 3, just like Miller.
Miller last fought on December 23, 2023, Judgment Day, in Saudi Arabia.
Miller came face to face with Daniel Dubois – losing the fight in the final seconds of the 10th round at Kingdom Arena.
The fight between Ruiz and Miller will take place on the undercard of Crawford’s fight with WBA light-middleweight world champion Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles.
Crawford – who is a former lightweight world champion and was also undisputed welterweight and welterweight champion – will look to land a world title in a fourth weight division.
Ruiz and Miller were photographed sparring at Wednesday’s press conference in New York.
The event will be presented by Riyadh Season under the leadership of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA).
Crawford beat Errol Spence Jr in July and will look to add Madrimov to the long list of names he has conquered, including Brits Ricky Burns, Amir Khan and Kell Brook.
This highly anticipated card will also mark the kingdom’s first boxing event outside of Saudi Arabia, with His Excellency Alalshikh proving he has the ability to stage historic fights around the world.
Speaking about the event, HE Alalshikh said: “We are delighted that the Riyadh season will host its first overseas event in Los Angeles and this fight in the United States is special to mark the moment.
“We want to give people around the world the opportunity to have their own experience of the Riyadh season and that is exactly what we hope to achieve by organizing this and future events around the world.”
While Eddie Hearn added: “This is a fantastic fight between a pound-for-pound great and one of the best world champions in the sport. Terence is pound for pound excellent and continues to strive to be the best.
The heavyweight fight will go down the undercard of Terence Crawford’s (above) clash with WBA light-middleweight world champion Israil Madrimov.
Madrimov poses for a photo with the belt after his victory over Magomed Kurbanov
“But in Israel he meets a hungry champion who has no intention of relinquishing his title in his first defense – this promises to be one of the fights of the year.”
“The undercard has to be one of, if not the best, we’ve ever seen for an American card – get ready for a huge night on August 3 in Los Angeles.”
Crawford is equally excited about the event, saying, “I am proud to partner with Riyadh Season and SE Turki Alalshikh for their first boxing event in the United States. I can’t wait to get back in the ring in my fourth weight class and remind the world why I am the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“Israil Madrimov is a great and entertaining fighter, but on August 3, he will be my next victim. This is the Terence Crawford era.
