Andy Ruiz Jnr at his lightest weight for eight years ahead of comeback

Andy Ruiz Jnr weighed in at 254.3lbs for his latest comeback, which will begin Friday night against Damian Knyba, the 6ft 7ins former sparring partner of Anthony Joshua.

Joshua, of course, is the man who Ruiz defeated so dramatically inside New York’s Madison Square Garden when he inflicted the first defeat on the Englishman in June 2019.

For that momentous fight – a contest when Ruiz became a global star overnight – he weighed 268lbs. Infamously, he piled on more than 15lbs to an already hefty frame for the rematch six months later. Ruiz barely won a round and lost widely on the cards.

Ruiz, 35-2-1 (22 KOs), has struggled for form since.

Wins over Chris Arreola in 2021 and over Luis Ortiz in 2022 would slowly follow. The only other post-Joshua action came in his most recent contest, an August 2024 draw with Jarrell Miller.

For the Arreola bout Ruiz was as low as 256lbs (he was 268 and 274 for Ortiz and Miller respectively), but this bout against Knyba, topping a Matchroom bill at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, represents his lightest weight since he outpointed Kevin Johnson in July 2018. For that routine 10-round victory, the now-36-year-old weighed 252lbs.

Ruiz, prior to hooking up with old coach Manny Robles last year, admitted that his weight had ballooned to more than 300lbs. His contextually slim appearance on the scale this week suggests this is a comeback – which might also be his last chance to re-enter the championship picture at heavyweight – he is taking seriously.

Knyba, from Poland, can be described as a fringe contender at best. The 30-year-old can boast a 17-1 (11 KOs) record but the lone defeat – a three-round defeat to Agit Kabayel – was also his only foray into world class.