Ruiz facing real adversity could help him bounce back, says Foreman
Andy Ruiz Jr has made a lot of money this year, but it might not serve him well in the short-term, says the former heavyweight champ.
You have to wonder, how will Andy Ruiz Jr proceed from here?
One might think that it’s a no-brainer, the kid is going to come back, guns a-blazin’, seek redemption, trim down so he can rise up again.
But check it out: it might be harder for Ruiz to just snap the fingers and turn back on that motivational switch to where it was in the lead-up to his June 1 triumph for the ages.
Why? Let George Foreman explain it to you. The living legend knows something about being jumbo-sized and liking to eat, and needing to turn off the desire to chow too heartily too often.
“Ruiz disappointed a lot of people, all with the knife and the fork,” Foreman told me.
Does he think Ruiz definitely bounces back, or might all that money mess with his head? Foreman said he can redeem himself, if not against AJ. He needs to be 265 or so, and can probably “outpoint anyone in the business. He can do it, yes he can do it. But preachin’ about a third fight,” George said, don’t go there.
Ruiz has a stash of cash to keep on having fun if he chooses. Foreman said he’s been there. “The money started to rain in. I’ve been there, you don’t know what to do, you can ask, and it’s delivered to your door the next day, anything you want. And of course you fall prey. The silk pajamas and the banana splits will kill you quicker than a boxer, and that’s what happened to Ruiz!”
Foreman had two careers. Did the allure of the food and drink ever overpower him? He said his first reign, he didn’t know about the delicious fast food. He ate for fun for 10 years, then decided to get smarter, and ditched the fast food jones, so he could stay around 255 or so for his second run at a crown.
The Hall of Famer said that Ruiz can celebrate for five years, but many of those friends will jet when the party is over.
“Friends will put you down quicker when the zeroes start to disappear,” he said. Yes, indeed, that pile can shrink real quick. “You don’t know money, money slips away. I’ve seen it pass me by. He will see it pass him by.”
That story is time honored. Ruiz made around $7 million for the June 1 fight, and around $9 million for the Dec. 7 scrap. But bigger money sometimes means bigger problems, or at least different ones, not so easy to solve. Not with money, anyway.