Andy Ruiz knocked down Luis Ortiz three times on the way to a victory by unanimous decision Sunday night, taking a major step toward a chance to become a heavyweight world champion again.
Abner Mares, a former three-division world champion, also battled Miguel Flores on the pay-per-view undercard, and the fight ended in a majority draw. The second round saw Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz, a lightweight, finish Eduardo Ramirez with two brutal knockdowns.
In the main event, two-time world championship challenger Ortiz (33-3) was defeated by Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs), who had all the big moments. The Southern California native twice knocked the 43-year-old Ortiz to the canvas in the second round and once again in the seventh, but his Cuban opponent was more accurate with his punches during extended periods of time when both boxers were relatively inactive.
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Because I knew he was a warrior and a heavy hitter, I worked really hard to prepare for this fight, Ruiz said. "I thought I handled his pressure and coming forward beautifully," she said.
Ruiz won the fight with scores of 114–111, 114–111, and 113–112 from the judges. The knockdowns were the deciding factor in Ruiz's 114-111 score according to The Associated Press.
When he grabbed Anthony Joshua's three title belts in 2019, Ruiz pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent heavyweight history, only to give them back to the British fighter six months later. Ruiz hadn't fought since, but he returned to the gym in the hopes of getting another chance at the belts.
Ruiz declared, "I don't want to be waiting. At the very least three or four times a year, I want to fight. Man, I'm famished. I want to succeed once more.
Ruiz quickly knocked Ortiz to the ground early in the second round with a short right hand after entering the ring wearing a blue-and-gold robe and trunks decorated with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams' colors and helmet horns. Ortiz staggered to his feet before falling back while attempting to clinch with Ruiz, but he managed to reach the bell.
In the following four rounds, neither fighter threw much or took many risks, to the chagrin of the strongly supporting Ruiz audience. But late in the seventh, Ruiz struck once more, knocking Ortiz to the ground with a right to the top of the head.
Ruiz admitted, "It was incredibly difficult. "It was a blessing that I have the ability to counterpunch rather than waiting for him to load up."
Prior to that, Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs) destroyed Ramirez in two rounds, first dropping him face-first with a left hook to the jaw and then finishing him with a combination in the corner. Cruz made a strong case for a rematch with Gervonta "Tank" Davis.
Davis, who narrowly defeated Cruz by decision in December, grinned as he listened to Cruz's supporters yell, "We want Tank!" throughout the fight.
Mares (31-3-2) hadn't competed since June 2018, when he suffered his second defeat against Leo Santa Cruz. Shortly before the coronavirus pandemic began, he underwent surgery to repair a detached retina. His recovery time dragged on while he searched for and accepted a commentary position with Showtime.
But Mares ultimately made the decision to return, and he beat Flores (25-4-1) immediately away with a string of powerful right punches that rattled his opponent. Mares wore down in the second half, but on one judge's score, she won 96-94. The other two gave it a 95-95 rating.
Since it had been more than four years, Mares admitted that she was a touch slow and out of sync with her actions. "But I felt fantastic, and I believed my shots were connecting on the harder ones. I undoubtedly felt victorious.
The pay-per-view show began with a huge upset: Edwin De Los Santos, a lightweight from the Dominican Republic who had been brought in as a last-minute substitute, stopped previously unbeaten Mexican contender Jose Valenzuela in the third round. De Los Santos was only included on the card on Wednesday because Jezreel Corrales was unable to obtain a visa for travel from Panama.
