Andy Ruiz Jr. gets dropped early but defeats Chris Arreola by UD (Video)

The heavyweight boxing bout between Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Chris Arreola surpassed all expectations. Arreola scared Ruiz early, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Heavyweight boxer and former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. ended his 17-month layoff on May 1 when he met Chris Arreola at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Ruiz was the favorite, but Arreola threw him for an early scare.

Ruiz came into the fight at a trim 256 pounds. He’s still in his prime at 31 years old, but Arreola had age working against him at 40 years old. Still, the older man came in at the lightest weight of his career at 228 pounds, and it made a difference for the aged veteran.

Ruiz controlled the action in round 1, but round things changed drastically in round 2. Arreola caught Ruiz with a right hand that hurt and dropped him. Ruiz got to his feet and tried to shake it off but was hurt again by Arreola moments before the bell.

Arreola carried that momentum into round 3. He hurt Ruiz on two occasions with lead left hooks that Ruiz walked into. Ruiz’s chin and recuperative abilities showed as he mounted a comeback in the last 30 seconds.

Chris Arreola had Andy Ruiz Jr. in trouble early, but Ruiz stormed back for the win

Arreola continued to box well in rounds 4 and 5, but they were tough rounds to score. The tide changed in round 6. Ruiz’s fast hands started to score on Arreola. Arreola was moving forward, and Ruiz countered him well. It was a clear Ruiz round.

Ruiz’s success continued to snowball in the following rounds. Ruiz hurt Arreola in round 8 with an odd right hook to the back that numbed Arreola’s arm. He visibly winced and tried to shake it off.

Ruiz’s punching accuracy took over the fight. By round 9, he accumulated more than 40 more connected punches than Arreola in the fight. That trend continued for the remainder of the bout.

Ruiz cruised for the rest of the fight. He tried to get Arreola out of there in round 12, but Arreola’s chin and heart kept him in the contest. Arreola looked great early, but the younger Ruiz recovered and pressed the action for most of the fight.

The judges returned scores of 117-110 and two of 118-109, all for Ruiz. Ruiz is back on track since his loss to Anthony Joshua in their rematch and looks poised to make some noise in the heavyweight division.