Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz fight results, highlights: Ruiz drops Ortiz three times en route to decision win

Ruiz put on a strong showing in Los Angeles on Sunday night, moving one step closer to a title shot

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Every fight is dangerous in the heavyweight division and just a handful of punches can change an outcome. That's exactly how the fight between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Luis Ortiz played out on Saturday night, with Ortiz technically winning more rounds on the three official scorecards but Ruiz taking a unanimous decision victory thanks to three knockdowns in the fight.

The action was frequently slow and often dominated by Ortiz's jab, but every moment of note belonged to Ruiz. The most exciting round of the fight was the second, with Ruiz dropping Ortiz with a big right hand to the side of the head and scoring a second knockdown moments later as Ortiz had yet to recover his equilibrium.

Ruiz would take his foot off the gas after the explosive second frame and Ortiz would continually grab control of the pace of the fight with little more than a sharp and disciplined jab. This resulted in the fight frequently becoming a tepid affair and drawing boos from the crowd.

Despite the lack of action and Ruiz spending much of the fight absorbing jabs from his southpaw opponent, the first southpaw Ruiz had faced as a professional, another Ruiz bomb dropped Ortiz in the seventh round, leaving a win on the scorecards little more than a prayer for Ortiz.

After the completion of 12 rounds, the official scorecards read 113-112 and 114-111 twice for Ruiz. The knockdowns were the deciding factor, as two of the three judges gave both men six rounds and one saw it seven to five in favor of Ortiz.

Despite the loss, Ortiz showed an ability to still contend at 43 years old and said he was not yet ready to hang up the gloves.

"I told you I was going to be a warrior," Ortiz said after the fight. "I love this. This is Cuba vs. Mexico. It was a war. ... If they said 'King Kong' is old. I gave you a war today. I think I gave a good fight tonight."

Ortiz has now been knocked down five times in 2022, having been dropped twice in a January bout with Charles Martin, a fight Ortiz was able to win by scoring a knockout in the sixth round. The loss to Ruiz was just the third defeat in Ortiz's career, the previous two coming in bids for the WBC world title against Deontay Wilder.

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As for Ruiz, the former three-belt heavyweight champion of the world, he said his plan is to be more active, no longer looking to fight just once each year as he tries to get back to a world title fight after shocking the world by defeating Anthony Joshua to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles before losing them in the rematch.

"Staying active, man. I don't want to be waiting so long before I fight," Ruiz said. "I want to be fighting three or four times a year. I'm ready. I want to bring the belt back to Mexico."

Ruiz, who has now won two consecutive bouts since losing the rematch with Joshua, suggested a fight with former champ Wilder could be next, assuming Wilder defeats Robert Helenius in October. Wilder, who was in the crowd for the fight, entered the ring after the call-out and seemed open to the idea.

"If that's what lines up next," Wilder said. "I gotta handle business first but let's get it on."

Elsewhere on the card, Isaac Cruz reminded just how much of a threat he can be in the lightweight division with a thunderous second-round knockout of Eduardo Ramirez. Cruz, who battled Gervonta "Tank" Davis to a decision last December, called for a rematch with the superstar after his victory.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the event in Los Angeles. 

Ruiz vs. Ortiz fight card, results

  • Andy Ruiz def. Luis Ortiz via unanimous decision (113-112, 114-111, 114-111)
  • Isaac Cruz def. Eduardo Ramirez via second-round knockout
  • Abner Mares vs. Miguel Flores ends in a majority draw (96-94, 95-95, 95-95)
  • Edwin de los Santos def. Jose Valenzuela via third-round TKO

Ruiz vs. Ortiz scorecard

Round123456789101112Total
Ruiz101010999109109109114
Ortiz979101010810910910111
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Official result -- Andy Ruiz def. Luis Ortiz via unanimous decision (113-112, 114-111, 114-111)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 12: Ortiz tried to open up early and he connected with a few good punches even as Ruiz fired back. Ortiz landed an uppercut after a few more jabs, continuing to try to make something happen in the final three minutes of the fight. Ortiz connected with some left hands but Ruiz took them well and didn't seem hurt. Ruiz ate a big left in the corner and landed a right of his own in return. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (114-111 Ruiz)

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September 5, 2022, 4:32 AM
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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 11: Ruiz landed a good right hand early in the round and then a jab. Ortiz's right eye started to swell noticeably. Ruiz again landed the right and Ortiz stumbled and seemed hurt badly. Ruiz started to open up a bit more after having only landed one punch in the 10th. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ruiz (105-101 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 10: Ortiz landed several more jabs and then a right hand early. Even as he has often had success, he needs to go for broke at some point, trying to find a knockout. That may be hard to do given he's been dropped three times and really going for it will leave him open to return fire. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (95-92 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 9: Ruiz landed several shots in a big combination and then touched the canvas after a right hand but the referee judged it as a slip or a shove. Things slowed back down and back to the same range. Ortiz did land a good left hand late in the round. Ruiz's early work likely was enough to give him this one. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ruiz (86-82 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 8: Ortiz landed a chopping left hand and then worked the jab again before a big exchange that saw Ortiz get the better of things. Ortiz just stayed on the jab gameplan, with Ruiz landing a body shot. Again, Ortiz does well responding to a poor previous round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (76-73 Ruiz)

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September 5, 2022, 3:57 AM
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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 7: Ruiz landed a good shot to the body early and the crowd was booing more loudly at the lack of action in the fight. A brief exchange of combinations from both men saw Ruiz land a few good right hands, his best work in a few rounds. A big right from Ruiz forced Ortiz to stumble and another right hand put Ortiz on the canvas for the third time in the fight. Ortiz landed one more right before the end of the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Ruiz (67-63 Ruiz)

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September 5, 2022, 3:56 AM
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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 6: More of the same for the first half of the round, Ortiz jabbing away until Ruiz landed a right hand. Ortiz started trying to get his straight left going and that let Ruiz look to counter. Ruiz threw a good body shot and was right back to the outside. Ortiz landed a left around Ruiz's guard and slipped a Ruiz sot before landing a good left hand. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (57-55 Ruiz)

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September 5, 2022, 3:50 AM
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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 5: Ortiz again was content early to sit at range and throw the jab. Ortiz also dipped with a few body shots before Ruiz landed a right hand and a left hook moments later. Ortiz landed a good combination of punches in response to a lunging right from Ruiz. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (48-45 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 4: Ortiz landed a few jabs early in the round and Ruiz started to show a bit of marking around his left eye from that punch landing a few times. Another slow-paced round without much of anything happening, though Ortiz seemed to have banked it simply through working the jab a few times. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ortiz (39-35 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 3: Ortiz looked well-recovered in the opening seconds of the round, moving a bit more steadily. Ortiz started bouncing on the balls of his feet and popping off jabs. Ruiz landed a good right hand two minutes into the round after not much of anything had happened prior. The fighters have had their heads clash several times already in the fight. Mostly a dull round, hard to call. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Ruiz (30-25 Ruiz)

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Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Luis Ortiz -- Round 2: Ruiz landed a hard right hand in the early moments of the round. Ortiz poked with jabs trying to figure out range. A big Ruiz right hand dropped Ortiz. Ortiz took nine on the floor before rising to his feet. Another right from Ruiz put Ortiz down but the punch didn't seem to land as much as Oritiz was just hurt. Ortiz landed a good counter shot but again his legs buckled when Ruiz landed a shot. Ruiz landed a few more good shots before Ortiz finally landed another left. Unofficial scorecard: 10-7 Ruiz (20-16 Ruiz)

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