Julius Julianis revealed last night that heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz Jr has parted ways with Premier Boxing Champions, a move Ruiz Sr tells ESPN KnockOut was mutual.
It’s unclear how Ruiz (35-2, 22 KO), who’s fought just twice since his disastrous rematch with Anthony Joshua in 2019, will go from here. An interim IBF title fight with Filip Hrgovic was on the table, with the sanctioning body even bending its own rules regarding purse bids for interim titles due to “mutual interest,” but said bid was canceled yesterday. The other big option was a WBC final eliminator against Deontay Wilder, which Mauricio Sulaiman ordered just after Ruiz’s and Wilder’s respective victories over Luis Ortiz and Robert Helenius. While that’s still possible, Julianis reports that PBC was trying to put it together, casting doubt on whether Ruiz is pursuing it.
All we can do at this point is wait and see where Ruiz ends up. He’s shown a bizarre lack of urgency to return to contention, and while 33 is nowhere near old by heavyweight standards, there hasn’t been much reason to get invested in his career recently.
Source: https://www.badlefthook.com/2023/2/24/23614011/andy-ruiz-jr-parts-with-pbc-now-promotional-free-agent-boxing-news-2023