The matchup would place Ruiz back in the ring for the first time in roughly two years since his 12-round draw against Jarrell Miller in August 2024. Hughie, 31, has won eight straight fights since his 2019 stoppage loss to Alexander Povetkin, but the opposition has been limited, and he has stayed far from the contender mix.
“Well, I could start. You sent me a message on Instagram, and you said, ‘Hey, I think it would be a good fight if we fight, right?’
“And I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. Send me a contract.’
“Let me know what your promoter, manager, whoever it was, because I’m a free agent. But yeah, we agreed. Things take longer than usual because of the negotiations of where it’s going to be, who’s going to host it, what promoter is going to get it.
“But we’re right here,” Andy Ruiz Jr. said to Boxing King Media.
Ruiz’s career has never regained momentum after the two massive paydays against Anthony Joshua in 2019. Many fans understood why his activity slowed after reportedly making life-changing money from those fights, but the strategy backfired badly.
Rather than rebuilding steadily through activity, Ruiz spent years pursuing only the biggest fights. He repeatedly called for a third Joshua fight, targeted bouts against Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, and reportedly priced himself too high during talks for the Wilder fight.
The result was long inactivity and declining relevance in a heavyweight division that kept moving without him.
Hughie’s own career has stalled in a different way. He lost decisions to Joseph Parker in 2017 and Kubrat Pulev in 2018 before the Povetkin loss the following year. Since then, he has remained active mostly against lower-level opposition without taking another major step up. His last fight came against little-known Michael Webster in November 2025.
“We both want to fight. So, let’s get it on.
“I want the fight. You want it. That’s it. Enough talk. Let’s get the fight on,” said Hughie Fury about his interest in fighting Andy Ruiz Jr.
For Ruiz, the fight carries an uncomfortable meaning. A former unified heavyweight champion who once looked positioned for years of major events is now linked to a heavyweight whose biggest career moments remain losses from nearly a decade ago.
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