Andy Ruiz Jr Returns Against Damian Knyba After Two-Year Absence

Andy Ruiz Jr will return to the ring against Damian Knyba at the Prudential Center in Newark on Friday, ending an absence of more than two years. The Guardian reports that the 12-round, non-title heavyweight contest will be Ruiz’s first appearance since his majority draw with Jarrell Miller in 2024 and the opening fight of a three-bout agreement with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.

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Ruiz, who turns 37 next week, weighed 254.3 pounds on Thursday, his lightest fighting weight since 2018. Knyba registered 255.5 pounds. Their weights are close, but the Polish boxer stands 6-foot-7, six inches taller than Ruiz, and has an 86-inch reach. Knyba enters with a 17-1 record and 11 knockouts, while Ruiz is 35-2-1 with 22 stoppage victories.

The fight also marks Ruiz’s reunion with Manny Robles, the trainer who guided him through both of his 2019 bouts with Anthony Joshua. Ruiz shocked the previously unbeaten Joshua at Madison Square Garden in June of that year, rising from a knockdown and flooring the champion four times before the seventh-round stoppage. He then lost the WBA, IBF and WBO belts to Joshua on points in their rematch six months later.

According to The Guardian, Ruiz and Robles have worked together throughout this year rather than assembling only for a conventional training camp. Their return to the gym follows periods in which Ruiz trained under Eddy Reynoso and Alfredo Osuna. Ruiz said this week that Robles had helped wake him up after he failed to follow the right approach for previous fights.

Ruiz’s long inactivity included several physical setbacks. He had surgery on his right knee in 2021 and on a torn rotator cuff in 2023. He also broke his right hand during the draw with Miller, completed all 12 rounds and later underwent surgery after initially hoping the injury would heal without an operation.

Knyba’s only professional defeat came in January, when Agit Kabayel stopped him in the third round. Knyba said before Friday’s contest that the experience showed he could compete at elite level and that he expects the best version of Ruiz. For Ruiz, the matchup will test whether his conditioning, hand speed and durability can support another attempt to enter the heavyweight title picture.