Andy Ruiz Jr has slimmed down significantly in preparation for a return to the ring.
The Mexican-American puncher hasn’t boxed since last August when he was held to a disputed majority draw by Jarrell Miller in Los Angeles.
However, he is now training and dieting again.
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Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Ruiz Jr posted a picture of some food prep, with the caption: “Gotta start now and only eat protein for 3 weeks.
“Getting ready before fight camp.”
‘The Destroyer’ then followed up his post with a shirtless snap, devoid of his famous gut.
“Slow but surely,” he wrote underneath. “Work in progress…”
Ruiz Jr usually operates between 255lbs and 265lbs, but for his last bout with Miller, he came in at 274lbs – his second heaviest weight to date.
The 35-year-old looked sluggish and was fortunate to scrape a draw.
Yet judging from recent pictures, he looks to be boiling down to his ideal fight weight as he starts the arduous climb back to the top.
Ruiz Jr tipped the scales at 268lbs when he stunned the boxing world by snatching the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles from Anthony Joshua in June 2019.
The heavy underdog stepped in on five weeks’ notice to replace Miller after the American failed a trio of drug tests and dropped AJ three times en route to a shocking seventh-round knockout win.
A rematch was then booked for December, and while Joshua took himself away from all of the external distractions and left no stone unturned in training, Ruiz Jr’s camp was less than ideal.
Ruiz Jr admits he spent three months partying and celebrating his career-best win, leading to 15lbs of weight gain.
The stocky boxer came in at a whopping 283.5lbs for their sequel and laboured to a wide unanimous decision loss.
“I don’t want to say the three months of partying or celebrating didn’t affect me, as to tell you the truth, it kind of did,” Ruiz said in the immediate aftermath.
“There’s no excuses. The partying got the best of me. The next fight is going to be a lot different.”
Ruiz Jr never got his trilogy bout with Joshua, despite his best efforts, while his career has stagnated since their second meeting.
The former heavyweight world champion has only fought three times in the last six years: a pair of wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz and the aforementioned draw with Miller.
