Ruiz vs Arreola

117-110, 118-109 x2

In a fight with a lot of high drama in the first three rounds, former unified heavyweight champion Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. (34-2, 22 KOs) won an impressive and courageous twelve round unanimous decision over Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (38-7-1, 33 KOs) on Saturday night in front of 3,940 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California..

After Ruiz carried the opening round, Arreola looked to end matters in Round 2. In that stanza, he caught Ruiz during an exchange with a short right on top of the head, short-circuiting Ruiz who dropped to the canvas. Once Andy arose, the action ensued and Arreola rocked Ruiz several times more in that round and in Round 3.

Staggered and dazed, Ruiz, who was hurt more than at any other time in any previous fight, fired back well each time and seemed to rattle Arreola at end of the third.

Round 4 could have gone either way, but Round 5 saw a more comfortable Ruiz start to take control with his fast combinations. Arreola's offense was now being neutralized by the younger fighter who started to dictate the tempo.

Ruiz continued to outbox Chris, whose punches were starting to look slow and labored. In Round 8,   Ruiz connected with a solid right to the back of Arreola's left arm. Chris winced in pain, turned his back and briefly exercised that arm before signifying he was fine and jumping back into battle.

For the rest of the fight, Ruiz outworked Arreola, jabbing away and mixing it up with quick. hard combinations. To his credit, Arreola used good footwork as well as fine upperbody and head movement to roll with many of the shots that were landing.

Andy was landing to good effect but Arreola's defensive prowess kept him from being seriously buzzed. However, having tasted Andy's power, Chris was more tentative offensively and seemed reluctant to let his hands go after Round 4.

It was a fine effort from Arreola, a 20 to 1 underdog, but Ruiz looked to be in total command from Rounds 5-12.

Arreola was disappointed with the lopsidedness of the decision and said something vulgar in his live post-fight interview which will likely result in a fine and/or suspension.

From our vantage point, sans stanzas 2, 3 and (possibly) 4, it was difficult to find a round Chris won. 

The judges scored the bout 118-109, 118-109, and 117-110 as Ruiz wins a unanimous decision.

Punchstats
Per CompuBox, Ruiz landed 161 of 626 total punches thrown (25.7%) while Arreola connected on 109 of 521 (20.9%). And in powershots, Ruiz landed 106 of 238 (44.5%) while Arreola landed 75 of 245 (30.6%)

Drama
Arreola kept us on the edges of our seats in Rounds 2 and 3, dropping Ruiz and clearly hurting him several times; But the latter made adjustments and once he started to settle into the fight, it was all Ruiz.

Was it entertaining? Yes

Do we need to see a rematch? No

Cost: $49.95 for U.S. viewers.