Andy Ruiz Jr is hoping that a win over Jarrell Miller on Saturday night will open doors for his career.
The former unified heavyweight champion returns to the ring on the Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov undercard this weekend following close to two years of inactivity.
Ruiz’s win over Joshua can be considered among the greatest upsets in boxing history.
Ruiz Jr shocked the world in 2019 when he knocked out Anthony Joshua to become WBA ‘super’, IBF, and WBO world champion.
The 34-year-old came in as a short-notice replacement for Miller, who had failed a pre-fight drug test before his scheduled date with AJ.
Six months after Ruiz Jr’s upset win over Joshua, the fight was run back in Saudi Arabia.
This time, Joshua got the better of his adversary over the distance.
Since then, Ruiz Jr has been campaigning for a trilogy to no avail.
However, he has now turned his attention to a different former foe.
“For me next it’s Jarrell Miller; god willing we get that win and hopefully I’d love to run it back with Joseph Parker,” said Ruiz Jr.
Joseph Parker defeated Ruiz Jr back in 2016 in his native New Zealand via majority decision to claim the vacant WBO heavyweight title.
The fight was very close with many believing Ruiz Jr had done enough to get his hand raised.
“I’d love to get that rematch,” Ruiz Jr continued. “Of course, I rate Jarrell Miller. Any fighter inside that ring is dangerous.
Parker beat Ruiz Jr to become WBO heavyweight champion in 2016.
“You can’t underestimate nobody. We’ve got to be prepared. We’ve got to be ready for whatever comes our way. We’ve just got to get that win.
“The main thing is just getting the victory, getting back in action and getting ready to fight those big boys.
“Me personally I would like to have two fights, against people that are in the top ten or top fifteen.
“I’ll fight against anyone else after this fight. I just want to fight the top guys man.
“Joseph Parker is doing amazing things right now. He beat Wilder and he beat Zhang. I’d love to fight him too.
“I had a lot of rollercoasters and a lot of up and downs over the years since my last fight against Luis Ortiz.
“I had surgery on my shoulder. I had some ‘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 mumma’ drama but guess what?
“I’m back, I’m ready to go and I’m ready to become and two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
