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Andy Ruiz feels it is only right for him to earn more money as he makes his way up the boxing food chain. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
In that sense, the former heavyweight titlist from Imperial, Calif., thinks it is only logical that a potential fight with Deontay Wilder should net him a larger purse than his previous fight.
In a recent Instagram Live session, Ruiz claimed that Wilder was trying to lowball him by offering him the same amount that he earned in his last venture in the ring, a unanimous decision over Luis Ortiz one year ago at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
A fight between Wilder and Ruiz has been discussed for the past year but disagreement over the financial aspects have derailed those talks, even though both Ruiz and Wilder are backed by Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions. Recently, both Wilder and his trainer, Malik Scott, suggested that they were moving on from Ruiz, citing Ruiz’s unreasonable demands despite being a non-titlist. Indeed, Wilder is rumored to be in serious negotiations to face London’s Anthony Joshua next year in Saudi Arabia.
“‘Stop ducking Wilder’—ain’t nobody ducking Wilder, man,” Ruiz said. “Tell him to pay me what I deserve, bro. They’re trying to pay me what I got for my last fight. It doesn’t make sense. You’re f—— climbing up the ladders and then you get a big task and you’re supposed to beat him, and I f——- beat him, and then the purses is supposed to go higher and higher and higher. That’s the way it goes. If you don’t know, then don’t say sh!t.”
Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) did not reveal what Wilder’s offer to him was, but he did suggest a figure he could live with.
“$10 million or less? I’ll fight him for $10 million, f— it,” Ruiz said.
“If you show Wilder what I be doin’ inside the gym and how I be looking, he’s not going to want to fight. He’s going to want to pay me less money. F—— p-ssy ass foo.”
Ruiz shocked the world in 2019, when he upset then unified tilist Joshua with a seventh-round knockout at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ruiz would lose his belts to Joshua in the rematch six months later in Saudi Arabia.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.