Timothy Bradley has advised Andy Ruiz Jr to abandon his dream of becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion and hang up the gloves.
The Mexican-American claimed three of the four major titles in 2019, pulling off an almighty upset by dethroning Anthony Joshua with a seventh-round stoppage.
Since losing their rematch by unanimous decision, though, Ruiz has incurred lengthy spells of inactivity and is now coming off a third professional defeat.
This came against Damian Knyba over the weekend, with the 30-year-old causing an upset of his own by scoring a seventh-round knockdown and winning unanimously on the scorecards.
The 6ft 7in contender was coming off a third-round stoppage defeat to WBC champion Agit Kabayel in January, but nonetheless represented a high-risk opponent and has now put himself in the shop window for future opportunities.
For Ruiz, on the other hand, it is difficult to see where he goes from this disastrous start to his promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
In fact, Hall of Famer Bradley said on the DAZN and TNT Sports live broadcast that the 36-year-old should even start thinking about retirement.
“I would tell him to hang ‘em up because I’m telling you: If you can’t beat a guy like [Knyba, you might as well retire].
“I think there’s a lot of guys out there that can [beat Knyba]. I think Kabayel stops him again.”
Regardless of Bradley’s comments, Ruiz said during his post-fight interview that he will remain in the sport but needs to keep himself busy, having just ended more than two years of inactivity.
