Andy Ruiz Jr vs Luis Ortiz set for summer, Tyrone Spong Triller fight off

Andy Ruiz Jr and Luis Ortiz will clash next after all, following just a couple of days where Ruiz was headed instead for a July 16 Triller PPV fight with Tyrone Spong.

Mike Coppinger reports that Ruiz had already signed a deal with PBC to fight Luis Ortiz, who was highly critical of the Ruiz vs Spong announcement, and that Triller have willingly stepped aside, though they plan to do Ruiz-Spong after the Ortiz fight, seemingly whatever happens.

When Triller announced that they would have Ruiz vs Spong, some wondered if Ruiz was still with PBC. Clearly, he is.

Ruiz vs Ortiz is currently targeted for “late summer,” which I suppose could mean August or could mean somewhere into late September. August would seem more likely, simply because one would figure Ruiz will want trainer Eddy Reynoso’s full attention, and Canelo Alvarez is currently slated to fight in mid-September, likely against Gennadiy Golovkin.

Ruiz (34-2, 22 KO) scored the biggest win of his career and one of the great shock upsets ever when he stopped Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles in June 2019, but sort of blew his fame when he returned six months later wildly out of shape, losing a very dull rematch against a cautious Joshua in Saudi Arabia.

He didn’t fight for all of 2020, then came back in May 2021 for a win over long-faded veteran Chris Arreola in a PBC pay-per-view main event. On that note, yes, you can probably expect Ruiz vs Ortiz will be a PBC PPV.

The 43-year-old Ortiz (33-2, 28 KO) has fought twice since his second loss to Deontay Wilder, which also came in late 2019. In Nov. 2020, he beat Alexander Flores in something that can generously be described as a fight, and was probably when the PBC on FOX main events hit their rock bottom. He was last out on New Year’s Day this year, coming off the canvas twice to stop Charles Martin in six.