Two years after his draw against Jarrell Miller, which itself came two years after the unanimous decision win over Luiz Ortiz in 2022, ‘The Destroyer’ is set to make a comeback this weekend. On Friday, September 4, headlining a Matchroom-TNT card, Andy Ruiz Jr. will face Damian Knyba at the Prudential Center in Newark.

In a heavyweight landscape that has witnessed sharp turns in recent weeks, Ruiz’s return has sparked considerable buzz. With fans looking forward to the upcoming bout, the former unified heavyweight champion, who staged one of modern boxing’s biggest upsets when he knocked out Anthony Joshua six years ago, is leaving no stone unturned to make it a successful comeback. Entering what could be the final stretch of his career, the 36-year-old has no desire to revisit those stagnant days of inactivity and hopelessly waiting for his turn. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Ruiz shared a few glimpses into that difficult period and how he ultimately managed to turn his life around.

“It got really dark. Really dark,” Ruiz confessed to Helwani. “It’s just, you know, everybody goes through roller coasters. Everybody has ups and downs in their life, and especially when it gets mental as well, you know, especially when you feel like if you’re not good enough, you feel like if you’re not going to be the same, if you feel like you don’t want to do this anymore, you know, there’s a lot of there’s a lot of things that were happening.”

Though the discussion stemmed from his rapping, Ruiz did not reveal too much, instead dwelling on something that is common for anyone who goes through life’s ups and downs. Speaking about his newfound hobby, the former champion shared the themes surrounding his songs, which included a diss track, a love song, and one about “dark days.”

Looking back at his past interviews suggests Ruiz’s problems began after he lost the rematch to Anthony Joshua. Reportedly, he locked himself in the house, ate heavily, smoked, and drank. At one point, it even appeared that he might not continue boxing.

While he publicly accepted responsibility for his preparation, saying he should have trained harder and listened to his trainer, Ruiz largely withdrew from public life. Some reports even suggested the fighter was using banned substances during the period.

After the AJ setback, Ruiz continued to fight, securing wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz. But challenges continued. A shoulder surgery kept him sidelined for close to two years before he faced Jarrell Miller. Even so, his problems were far from over.

While the bout on August 3, 2024, ended in a draw, Ruiz once again injured himself, breaking his right hand during the fight.

Combined with his seclusion and inactivity, unhealthy food habits reportedly led to Ruiz ballooning to 300 pounds. His weight had already risen to a career-high 284 pounds for the Joshua rematch.

Against that backdrop, the former champion told Helwani that he had now dropped down to 257 pounds. While that may not be the ideal weight he wants for himself, Ruiz, however, said that he was happy that he reached this point and was still progressing.

He even shared his dream about looking as chiseled and in shape as Anthony Joshua. While he may never fulfill that goal, Ruiz revealed he is working towards a point where he is more in control of his food intake. This includes new habits such as intermittent fasting, which involves skipping breakfast and going straight to lunch.

Ruiz also shared that he has been regular at the gym to the extent that he sometimes overextends. As a result, his team members have to rein him in.

Andy Ruiz Jr. once shocked the world. Can he do it again?

A week after the fight against Knyba, Andy Ruiz will turn 37. While a win over the Polish heavyweight would be the best birthday gift he could give himself, more practically, Ruiz knows he is running against time. He has to act fast before his legacy fades.

That also explains his major career decision to join Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in July.

Neither he nor Knyba is currently a top heavyweight contender. However, what may work in Ruiz’s favor is that a win over Knyba, whose unbeaten run was broken by current WBC champion Agit Kabayel this past January, could boost his standing to the point where, under Matchroom, he once again becomes a major attraction whom top contenders and perhaps even some of the champions would like to test themselves against.

In a way, Ruiz might be attempting to repeat what boxing greats like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman did in the past, or more recently, what the likes of Vitali Klitschko and even Tyson Fury did: stage a successful comeback after a prolonged absence.

In Fury’s case, the former champion, after defeating Vitali’s brother Wladimir to become a unified heavyweight champion, also went through a similar dark phase that saw him dealing with severe mental health challenges. It took him another three to make a return and another two before he could become a champion again.

Ruiz, who was in talks for a potential matchup with Fury, who is now poised for a historic showdown with AJ later this year, may not have that much time on his hands. So he literally has to make the most of the opportunity while he can.