{"id":1090095,"date":"2026-07-15T05:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1090095\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T05:22:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:22:21","slug":"andy-ruiz-jr-ends-two-year-layoff-to-face-6ft-7in-man-mountain-in-first-fight-with-eddie-hearn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1090095\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Ruiz Jr ends two-year layoff to face 6ft 7in man mountain in first fight with Eddie Hearn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Ruiz Jr makes his long-awaited return to the ring on September 4<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Just over two years to the day of his last outing, the former unified heavyweight champion locks horns with towering 6ft 7in Polish pugilist Damian Knyba<\/a> at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, live on DAZN.<\/p>\n

\"Ruiz<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr hasn’t set foot in the ring since his controversial draw with Jarrell Miller in August 2024Credit: Mark Robinson \/ Matchroom Boxing<\/p>\n

It marks his first fight under the Matchroom Boxing banner after officially signing with Eddie Hearn’s promotion earlier this month.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr: I’ll become two-time champion in 2026<\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr (35-2-1) famously knocked out Anthony Joshua<\/a> in June 2019 to snatch the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles from his British rival in one of the biggest upsets of the decade.<\/p>\n

He lost the rematch six months later and has only fought three times over the last six and a half years.<\/p>\n

Ruiz Jr recorded back-to-back points wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz<\/a> in 2021 and 2022, before holding Jarrell Miller<\/a> to a controversial draw last time out in August 2024.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ON TALKSPORT<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old suffered a serious hand injury during the bout, which required surgery.<\/p>\n

After a lengthy stint on the sidelines resting and recuperating, Ruiz Jr reunited with long-time coach Manny Robles to prepare for his comeback.<\/a><\/p>\n

“After we get this victory, I would love to fight all the guys that have the belts,” Ruiz Jr said.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re going to become a two-time champion next year.”<\/p>\n

Daniel Dubois<\/a> is the IBF heavyweight champion, while Agit Kabayel and Murat Gassiev are newly crowned champions, holding the WBC and WBA titles, respectively, following Oleksandr Usyk<\/a>‘s decision to vacate the belts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Knyba, meanwhile (17-1), is coming fresh off the first defeat of his career against Kabayel in January.<\/p>\n

\"Damian<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Knyba fell to defeat against Kabayel last time out in JanuaryCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

He had been booked to face Kacper Meyna in a Republic of Poland heavyweight title fight on October 3.<\/p>\n

However, that contest is no longer going ahead, with Piotr Lacz expected to take Knyba’s place.<\/p>\n

Outside of his third-round stoppage loss to Kabayel, Knyba has built his record against battle-hardened gatekeepers such as Michael Polite-Coffie, Joey Dawejko and Richard Lartey.<\/p>\n

Victory over Ruiz Jr would completely change the course of ‘The Polish Hussar’s’ career, and open the door to bigger and better fights.<\/p>\n

Who else is on Ruiz Jr vs Knyba card?<\/p>\n

In the Newark chief support act on September 4, 24-year-old Vito Mielnicki Jr will face former middleweight contender Austin Williams (20-2).<\/p>\n

“Every fight is another chapter in my story, and I’m ready to write my biggest one yet,\u201d Mielnicki Jr said.<\/p>\n

\"NEW<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Ruiz has vowed to become a two-time heavyweight champion as soon as this yearCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

“This is my time. Every sacrifice I’ve made has prepared me.<\/p>\n

Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that bell rings, fans are going to see a fighter who is hungry, confident, and ready to prove he belongs among the elite. I’m coming to make a statement.”<\/p>\n

Mielnicki Jr (23-1) dominated Omar Huerta in Atlantic City last time out in April, securing a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.<\/p>\n

Watch Boxing on DAZN<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue<\/p>\n

Sign up to DAZN<\/a> to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.<\/p>\n

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate<\/a> from just \u00a324.99\/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, DAZN Standard<\/a> is just \u00a315.99\/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.<\/p>\n

Click here to sign up<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Ruiz Jr makes his long-awaited return to the ring on September 4. Just over two years to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1090096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4108],"tags":[297724,1935,4496,26333,80538,7555,77663,297725,26335,79,16,15,36292,51565,13417],"class_list":["post-1090095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-andy-ruiz-jr","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-comeback","tag-damian-knyba","tag-date","tag-location","tag-opponent","tag-return","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-when","tag-where","tag-who"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116922323651173715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1090096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}