On the Watch “It’s All About Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Luis Ortiz”

WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator

Last night’s PBC/Fox PPV Main Event between former Unified Heavyweight Champion Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 Kos) and Luis Ortiz (33-3 28 Kos) at the Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, was an interesting bout that saw “King Kong” be at the receiving end of three knockdowns during the 12-round contest. Unbelievable.

I’m not sure if Ortiz underestimated Ruiz inside that squared circle but after seeing the canvas twice in round two, Ortiz awoke and realized quickly that Andy was coming for him by all means necessary. It took Ortiz some time but he eventually gathered himself and adjusted his “game plan” by working his jab while boxing and moving around making Andy rethink his approach.

That said this version of Andy last night was patient, less active with his hands but more calculative with his approach making sure when he pressed the action, his presence was felt with every punch landed. Ruiz’s hand speed and counter punching was the key to his success.

Both combatants fought with caution and at a slower pace than expected at times but both still had signs of success whenever they did connect blows back and forth. That being said, Andy’s counter punching speed and power was quite evident when he once again dropped Ortiz in round seven for a quick 8 count, but Ortiz bounced backed up and completed the tough round.

Ortiz regrouped and managed to build up some momentum throughout the later rounds with an effective jab keeping Ruiz at bay but he lacked that extra bounce in the back of his jab to put Ruiz down whenever the opportunity presented itself.

After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it 115-110, 114-111, 113-112 unanimously in favor of Andy Ruiz Jr.

Although Ruiz managed to drop Ortiz multiple times throughout the bout, this was by far one of his toughest battles to date. With this WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator win under his belt Andy creeps closer to an official WBC World Championship opportunity down the road.

Congratulations Andy on your latest win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez”

WBA Light Heavyweight Challenge

A very intriguing matchup in the Light Heavyweight Division has officially been announced. WBA Light-Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 Kos) has now been ordered to defend his Championship Belt against undefeated Mandatory Challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-0, 30 Kos) at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5, 2022.

This is a bout Ramirez has been looking forward to ever since he moved up to the Light Heavyweight Division in 2019. “Zurdo” is quite big for the Division and packs a mean punch in both hands whenever they detonate on one of his opponents. That said “Zurdo” has never faced such a cerebral opponent of the likes of Bivol with a high boxing IQ inside that squared circle. Dmitry is fresh off a win over the previous Pound-for Pound King Canelo Alvarez. On that night Dmitry showed the world and Canelo just how dominant he can be when faced with the best of the best of adversaries.

Looking at both combatants face to face, the size difference is quite noticeable. “Zurdo” looks like a full-blown Cruiserweight campaigning in the Light Heavyweight Division. Real Talk! Nevertheless, Bivol relishes his odds and can’t wait to go toe to toe with Ramirez, who also feels very confident that he has what it takes to finally dethrone the Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol. Gilberto is adamant that his physical attributes, his experience and his own boxing IQ will be enough to do the job on Bivol come Saturday night November 5, 2022, inside that squared circle at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates.

The date is set, and the talking is done. It’s time to show up and put out and see who can back it up inside that squared circle.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II”

IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Rematch Challenge

Tonight’s Heavyweight Championship rematch between Undefeated Unified IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 Kos) and former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 Kos) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, definitely lived up to the hype.

This highly anticipated bout was a continuation from their last meeting but this time Joshua, with a new trainer by his side, performed exceptionally better then his last outing. This time around AJ had a much better “game plan” and proceeded to execute it well but Usyk with his country of Ukraine at war on his mind, fought with all his people on the back of his shoulders and performed remarkably well with the added pressure.

That being said, AJ’s “game plan” was the right way to go about it in this bout but as the rounds progressed AJ seemed to divert from the plan at hand at times as Usyk proved to be just as elusive with his boxing skill on full display figuring AJ out as the rounds advanced.

AJ had some moments where he had the upper hand but neglected to capitalize and finish the job as the bigger and stronger man inside that squared circle and those critical times were key to him having that window of success.

Usyk weathered the storm and fought through the adversity and like the great technical combatant that he is managed to turn things around while never losing focus or confidence inside that squared circle.

This bout was a much closer outing then their last encounter but the deciding factors to me were the championship rounds where Usyk separated himself from AJ by being the much busier combatant in the most important rounds.

Both combatants showed fatigue in the later rounds but Usyk closed it out with pure will and effort in my eyes. After 12 full rounds of none stop action, the Judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 for Usyk and 115-113 for Joshua giving the split decision win to Oleksandr Usyk.

With this second win over AJ under his belt, Usyk retained his IBO/IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Championship belts and picked up the prestigious Ring Magazine belt for good measure.

Had Anthony stuck to the original “game plan” and not gassed out, we definitely could have seen a different outcome but the superior warrior in Oleksandr Usyk prevailed and completed the task at hand.

Congratulations Oleksandr on your latest accomplishment, well done.

Blaze