Under a three-fight agreement with Matchroom, Ruiz does not necessarily expect to complete the entire deal before challenging for a belt.
“It could take one fight. It could take two fights. I don’t know. God willing, just take this fight and then I’ll get to fight any of the champions,” Ruiz told Ariel Helwani.
Beating Knyba should not place Ruiz near the front of any championship line. Agit Kabayel stopped the 6’7” Polish heavyweight in three rounds, and Ruiz would merely be defeating someone who has already been exposed below the elite level.
Ruiz still has a reason to move quickly. Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic represent the type of champions who would generate a major payday without presenting the commercial obstacles attached to the division’s biggest names. Neither man may hold his belt for long, leaving Ruiz with a limited period to turn his reputation into a lucrative championship opportunity.
A fight against Dubois or Hrgovic would also give Matchroom an immediate return on its investment. Ruiz can be sold as a former champion attempting one last run rather than spending several seasons rebuilding against modest opposition. His 2019 upset of Joshua remains valuable enough to market, even if his recent results do not warrant preferential treatment.
Winning a belt would serve another purpose. Ruiz has repeatedly expressed interest in a third fight with Joshua after splitting their first two meetings. Joshua has little competitive need to revisit a loss he decisively avenged, but Ruiz becoming champion would change the value of that matchup. A trilogy containing a heavyweight title would be easier to sell than one based almost entirely on memories of Madison Square Garden.
That possibility adds urgency to the Knyba fight. Ruiz does not simply need another win. He needs to look convincing enough for Matchroom to place him near Dubois, Hrgovic, or another champion before the available belts change hands.
The reunion with Manny Robles offers Ruiz a familiar selling point. Robles trained him for the first Joshua fight, when his compact combinations, quick hands, and ability to close distance produced the defining performance of his career. Six years later, a trainer cannot restore lost activity or guarantee that Ruiz still possesses the same physical tools.
Questions also remain about his durability. Chris Arreola dropped Ruiz hard in 2021, while Miller’s constant pressure forced him into a draining fight three years later. Ruiz broke his hand during that draw and eventually required surgery. Elite heavyweights will test that hand, force him to maintain a higher output, and find out how much punishment he can still absorb.
A traditional rebuilding process would consume much of Ruiz’s remaining career. Taking three or four fights to restore his ranking may require another year or longer. Yet the championship queue contains younger contenders who have remained active and beaten better opposition. Mandatory defenses and existing title obligations leave little justification for Ruiz jumping ahead of them.
That explains the hurry, but it does not make Knyba a title eliminator. Ruiz first needs to show that his hand is healthy, his conditioning holds up, and the return to Robles has produced more than another temporary burst of discipline. His name may shorten the climb, but defeating Knyba would not prove he belongs with the division’s best.
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