Breazeale wants to be first man to stop Ruiz Jr

A bout against Andy Ruiz Jr, another man looking to rebuild his world title claims, is the top target for Dominic Breazeale.

Dominic Breazeale wants to fight Andy Ruiz.

Dominic Breazeale wants to be the first man to stop Andy Ruiz Jr, an outcome he hopes will get him back into world heavyweight title contention.

The American has said Ruiz, who is also advised by Al Haymon, is top of his shortlist for a fight after the coronavirus pandemic, with Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker the other names in contention.

Breazeale has not fought since being stopped in the first round of his WBC title shot against Deontay Wilder 11 months ago.

READ |

His only other career defeat came against Anthony Joshua, the Briton who suffered a stunning loss to Ruiz in 2019 before winning their rematch in Saudi Arabia on points.

Breazeale thinks a bout with Ruiz is one boxing fans would love to see and it may put the winner back in the mix for bouts against the likes of Whyte, Wilder, WBC champion Tyson Fury and WBA, WBO and IBF belt-holder Joshua.

"That's the fight that fans want to see, me and Andy Ruiz," he said to Sky Sports .

"I think it would be a good fit for me, I think it would be a good fit for boxing. I'd love to be able to get that rocking and rolling.

"We like to throw leather and we like to throw it with bad intentions.

"Sometimes we're not going to hold back on risk-taking, so when you get a guy like myself and Andy Ruiz in the ring, you're definitely going to see some fireworks.

"Every time I get in the ring, I'm looking to stop the fight and change the stats, so I would take great glory in giving Andy Ruiz his first professional stoppage."

Breazeale would adopt a similar approach to that deployed by Joshua in December, but ultimately wants a knockout triumph against former unified champion Ruiz.

He added: "Joshua made the adjustments and did what he was supposed to do as the bigger athlete in the ring, boxing his way to winning the titles back. 

"You get a big guy that can use his jab and move around the ring the way that Joshua was doing, a guy in Ruiz's situation doesn't stand a chance.

"That's the same game-plan that I would be taking into the approach of fighting Andy Ruiz, although I'm a fan-pleasing fighter and I'm probably going to go for the knockout at one point."