The action was often slow and often dominated by Ortiz’s jab, but every moment of note belonged to Ruiz. The most exciting round of the fight was the second, with Ruiz dropping Ortiz with a big right hand to the side of the head and scoring a second knockdown moments later as Ortiz had yet to regain his balance. Ruiz would take his foot off the gas after the explosive second frame, and Ortiz would constantly take control of the pace of the fight with more than a sharp and disciplined jab. This resulted in the match often becoming a tepid affair and drawing boos from the crowd. Despite the lack of action and Ruiz spending much of the fight absorbing jabs from his opponent in the southpaw, the first southpaw Ruiz had faced as a pro, another Ruiz powerbomb dropped Ortiz in the seventh round, leaving a victory on score cards little more than a prayer. for Ortiz. After the completion of 12 rounds, the official scorecards read 113-112 and 114-111 twice for Ruiz. Knockdowns were the deciding factor as two of the three judges gave both men six rounds and one saw it seven to five in favor of Ortiz. Despite the loss, Ortiz showed the ability to keep fighting at age 43 and said he wasn’t ready to hang up the gloves just yet. “I told you I was going to be a warrior,” Ortiz said after the fight. “I love this. This is Cuba vs. Mexico. It was a war… If they said ‘King Kong’ is old. I gave you a war today. I think I put up a good fight tonight.” Ortiz has now been knocked out five times in 2022, having been dropped twice in a January fight with Charles Martin, a fight Ortiz was able to win by sixth-round knockout. The loss to Ruiz was just the third loss of Ortiz’s career, with the previous two coming in WBC world title bids against Deontay Wilder. As for Ruiz, the former three-belt world heavyweight champion, he said his plan is to be more active, no longer wanting to fight just once a year as he tries to return to a world title fight after shocking world beating Anthony Joshua to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles before losing them in the rematch. “I’m staying active, man. I don’t want to wait that long before I fight,” Ruiz said. “I want to fight three or four times a year. I’m ready. I want to bring the belt back to Mexico.” Ruiz, who has now won two straight fights since losing the rematch with Joshua, suggested a fight with former champion Wilder could be next, assuming Wilder beats Robert Helenius in October. Wilder, who was in the crowd for the fight, entered the ring after the call-out and seemed open to the idea. “If that’s what the streak is,” Wilder said. “I have to attend to business first, but let’s get on with it.” CBS Sports was with you throughout the event in Los Angeles.
Ruiz vs. Ortiz fight card, results
Andy Ruiz def. Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision (113-112, 114-111, 114-111) Isaac Cruz or. Eduardo Ramirez by second round knockout Abner Mares vs. Miguel Flores by majority decision (96-94, 95-95, 95-95) Edwin of the Saints def. Jose Valenzuela via third round TKO
Ruiz vs. Ortiz scorecard
Ruiz101010999109109109114Ortiz979101010810910910111
