Promoter Eddie Hearn looked like a proud father in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday as he watched the famous boxers sit on the podium before the August 3 show at the arena BMO of Los Angeles on block fighting.
The cards were stacked with two press conferences held at Gotham Hall on Wednesday to introduce all the star power, with the main event and the lower players enjoying their time in the spotlight.
The card will be under the control of Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, and will be his first boxing card outside of Saudi Arabia. The top-to-bottom boxing lineup was one of the most star-studded in recent memory, with Hearn calling it “the best card I’ve ever seen in American boxing.”
Terrence Crawford will face Israel Madrimov for the WBA and WBO super welterweight championships.
Andy Ruiz, ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, Others Sell Aug. 3 Undercard in New York Presser https://t.co/QrpKGenQY2
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In the co-main event, former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz of Southern California will face Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, while Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz will have another highly anticipated fight to defend his WBA junior middleweight title against heavyweight champion Jose Valenzuela.
The card also features middleweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) vs. former champion Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs), although no one was there on Wednesday. Ortiz will face Tomas Duolme for the first time this Saturday.
August is working again. In third place is the highly entertaining David Morel, who will face Radivoje “Hot Rod” Karadzic in a light heavyweight bout.
Former Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz will also compete on the card.
This will be Ruiz’s first comeback since defeating Luis Ortiz three times in September 2022, winning by unanimous decision.
“I’m really happy to be back,” Ruiz said Wednesday. – There are many ups and downs in life, but I am happy that God gave me another chance. I’m ready to rock. Andy Ruiz returns on August 3rd – as Andy Ruiz.
The colorful Miller was last seen losing to Daniel Dubois by 10 round TKO in December.
Miller and Ruiz are friends, and there was little animosity between the sluggers on Wednesday.
“It was a great fight,” Miller said. – I can’t wait to do my best, it’s amazing. [Andy] and I are going to have a beer later. I will kill myself in the camp. No lies this time. His opponent was not that type. Nothing but love. But when one of us was hit in the face, the friend was gone.
Cruz famously knocked out Rolando Romero in the eighth round last month, while Valenzuela knocked out Chris Cole in the sixth round when they met in December.
Despite the weight in the 140-pound class, Cruz demurred when asked to pick his dream opponent, saying his focus was on Valenzuela.
“I’ve made a lot of preparations to stand up and put on a great show for the people of Los Angeles,” Cruz said. “I’m ready to face all the fighters, but right now I’m focused on Valenzuela.”
Valenzuela will start at 140 pounds against Cruz. “Being a world champion has been my dream since I was 10 years old,” Valenzuela said. – I am interested in part 135 and I think this is the job I need. I’m fine.
Morel sounds like it’s a distant memory as he steps up to a new weight class after winning the WBA super middleweight belt.
“I’m going to go up to 175 because nobody wants to fight me at 168,” he said. “It looks like all the fighters will be at 175, with Benavidez moving up in weight.”
