Is This the End for Andy Ruiz? Damian Knyba Drops Former Heavyweight Champion, Wins Decision

NEWARK, N.J. — Maybe Andy Ruiz Jr. simply doesn’t have it anymore. Age, inactivity and a massive physical disadvantage proved too much for the former unified heavyweight champion Friday night as Damian Knyba dropped Ruiz and earned a unanimous decision in the main event at Prudential Center.

Judge Tony Lundy scored the fight 117-110, while Glenn Feldman and Kevin Morgan each had it much closer at 114-113. All three ultimately sided with Knyba.

For Ruiz, the loss raises serious questions about what’s left for the 36-year-old former champion who once authored one of the greatest upsets in heavyweight boxing history. For Knyba, it may have provided a path right back toward the heavyweight championship picture.

“I used my physical attributes, my reach, my movement,” Knyba said afterward. “Andy is a great fighter and it was an honor to share the ring with him. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Andy Ruiz still wants to continue fighting!

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Knyba’s game plan wasn’t complicated. At 6-foot-7 and possessing a staggering 12-inch reach advantage, Knyba understood there was little reason to give Ruiz the close-range exchanges he needed.

So he didn’t. Knyba jabbed, moved and forced Ruiz to chase him throughout the early rounds. It wasn’t always entertaining, but it was effective. Ruiz struggled to consistently close the distance. Every time the former champion attempted to work his way inside, Knyba’s jab was waiting for him.

It was exactly the type of fight Ruiz didn’t need after another lengthy period of inactivity. Ruiz (35-3-1, 22 KOs) hadn’t competed since his August 2024 majority draw against Jarrell Miller. He underwent surgery on his right hand following that fight and entered Friday night trying to prove he could still make another run in the heavyweight division.

Instead, he ran into a younger, much bigger heavyweight determined to make him work for every opportunity.

The victory was particularly important for Knyba (18-1, 11 KOs), who entered the fight attempting to recover from the first loss of his professional career. Agit Kabayel stopped Knyba in the third round in January in a fight that was contested for the WBC interim heavyweight championship.

Kabayel has since been elevated to full WBC heavyweight champion. Now Knyba wants another shot at the only man who has defeated him.

“This feeling is so amazing,” Knyba said. “I really want a rematch with Kabayel.” Beating Ruiz gives Knyba a recognizable former champion on his résumé and potentially puts him back into position for another significant heavyweight fight.

Whether that immediately leads to Kabayel is another question. But Knyba accomplished what he needed to accomplish Friday night. He won. He did it against the biggest name he has defeated as a professional.

The more difficult question surrounds Ruiz. Seven years ago, Ruiz was on top of the boxing world. When he stopped Anthony Joshua in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden, Ruiz became the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent and instantly authored one of boxing’s great Cinderella stories.

That version of Ruiz possessed tremendous hand speed, combinations and counterpunching ability for a heavyweight. But time has passed. Ruiz has fought sparingly since losing the championships back to Joshua in their December 2019 rematch.

Friday night’s defeat wasn’t simply about losing to Knyba. It was about what the fight potentially revealed. Ruiz struggled with Knyba’s movement. He struggled getting past the jab. He was dropped and nearly stopped. And although he showed tremendous toughness and had moments of success after being hurt, he couldn’t sustain enough offense to change the fight.

At 36, inactivity becomes increasingly difficult to overcome. Heavyweights can certainly compete into their late 30s and even their 40s, but Ruiz has lost valuable years during what should have been the prime of his career.

Against Knyba, he had an opportunity to prove it. Instead, he left Newark with his third professional defeat. Ruiz will always have June 1, 2019. Nothing that happens from here can erase the night he walked into Madison Square Garden as a massive underdog and left carrying three heavyweight championship belts. But boxing doesn’t stop moving. Knyba is moving forward. Ruiz now has to decide whether he still can.