Andy Ruiz Jr is back, and at this point the first question is probably a simple one: what does the former unified heavyweight champion still have left?

Ruiz faces Damian Knyba on Friday, September 4 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, topping a card that also features a very interesting middleweight clash between Vito Mielnicki Jr and Austin “Ammo” Williams. The event will be shown on DAZN, with TNT carrying the action in the United States.

There are prospects scattered through the undercard, but Ruiz is inevitably the attraction. His career has been frustratingly stop-start since the Anthony Joshua fights, and another comeback only really matters if it leads somewhere. Knyba gets the chance to make sure it doesn’t.

Main Event: Andy Ruiz Jr vs Damian Knyba

Andy Ruiz (35-2-1) meets Damian Knyba (17-1-0) in the heavyweight main event.

Ruiz remains one of those heavyweights who is difficult to completely write off. His fast hands were a huge part of what made him such a problem at his best, but activity has been the obvious issue. He hasn’t been able to build sustained momentum, so this return is as much about showing where he is now as simply adding another win.

Knyba arrives with only one defeat on his 17-1-0 record and has the opportunity to turn a comeback fight for Ruiz into the biggest win of his own career. For him, there isn’t much mystery about the opportunity. Beat a former unified heavyweight champion on a major card and suddenly people are paying attention.

For Ruiz, though, a win alone probably isn’t the whole story. If he genuinely intends to make another run in the heavyweight division, this is the sort of night where you want to see sharpness, urgency and signs that the comeback has some purpose behind it.

Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Austin Williams

The fight I suspect plenty of boxing fans will be watching particularly closely comes at middleweight, where Vito Mielnicki Jr (23-1-0) takes on Austin Williams (20-2-0).

Mielnicki has put together a 23-1-0 record and now gets the sort of opponent who should tell us considerably more about where he stands. Williams has already operated in significant middleweight fights and comes in with a 20-2-0 record.

It’s a good bit of matchmaking because neither man is being given a throwaway assignment. Mielnicki has the chance to strengthen his contender credentials, while Williams can immediately change the direction of his own career with a win. On paper, this might end up being the most revealing fight on the card.

Other Title Fights

Alan Chaves puts his unbeaten 22-0-0 record on the line against Eridson Garcia (23-2-0) at lightweight. Chaves has yet to taste defeat, but Garcia’s record suggests this isn’t simply another opponent being brought in to make up the numbers.

Undercard

Unbeaten super-bantamweight Dennis Thompson (11-0-0) faces Jose Casillas (7-1-1), with Thompson looking to keep his perfect professional record intact.

At super-featherweight, Zaquin Moses (7-0-0) meets the much more experienced Angel Antonio Contreras (18-10-2). Seven fights against 30 tells you immediately what the test is supposed to be for Moses here.

Another unbeaten fighter appears at middleweight as Kahshad Elliott (8-0-0) takes on Jean Pierre Valencia (4-0-1). Neither man has lost professionally, so somebody’s unbeaten record could disappear in Newark.

Brooke Mullen (3-0-0) continues the early stages of her professional career against Bria Miller (2-1-0) at welterweight.

The card also includes the professional debut of Jordan Simpson, who faces Michael McDonald (0-1-0) in a four-round middleweight contest.

Ruiz will bring the attention, but Mielnicki-Williams gives the card a strong second fight and there are enough unbeaten prospects underneath them to make the early portion worth keeping an eye on. Now we find out whether Ruiz’s latest comeback has legs.

 

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