Former heavyweight boxing champion Andy Ruiz Jr. survived a second-round knockdown and went on to defeat Chris Arreola via unanimous decision.

Ruiz Jr. hadn’t fought since December 2019, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Anthony Joshua in their rematch. Since that time, Ruiz Jr. has taken his conditioning a lot more seriously than he used to earlier in his career, having dropped over 50lbs in preparation for this bout against the veteran Arreola. Ruiz entered the fight as a gigantic -2000 betting favorite and while he did end up getting his hand raised by unanimous decision, he had some sketchy moments during the fight including getting knocked down.

https://twitter.com/premierboxing/status/1388703408358625281

https://twitter.com/premierboxing/status/1388708696721608707

.@Andy_destroyer1 closes RD11 strong. The final round may decide #RuizArreola. pic.twitter.com/lF5G5gqAXz

— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) May 2, 2021

For Ruiz Jr., getting this win was a necessity as he looks to earn another title shot against either Joshua or potentially a fight against Deontay Wilder instead. Ruiz Jr. is still one of the top-ranked heavyweights in boxing and he needed a big win like this one over Arreola to get his confidence back as he looks to regain the belt that he dropped two years ago. Ruiz Jr. showed that his conditioning was a lot better in this fight as he went the full 12 rounds and surviving the knockdown showed that he has a ton of heart as well.

As for Arreola, going the distance with Ruiz Jr. in a fight that he was supposed to get destroyed in on paper has to be considered a big win for him. Although he did lose the decision at the end of the 12 rounds, the fact Arreola scored a knockdown is extremely impressive and it shows that he still has plenty of gas in the tank at age 40. But for Ruiz Jr., this kind of big win was exactly what he needed to move back up the ladder.

What do you think is next for Andy Ruiz Jr. after defeating Chris Arreola via decision?