Damian Knyba outpointed former world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr by unanimous decision, 117-110, to wreck the American's comeback at the Prudential Center in Newark after two years away from the ring. Size settled it. Standing 201 centimetres and working behind a 218-centimetre reach, the Pole held Ruiz at the end of his punches for all 12 rounds. A heavy right hand shook the American in the seventh, a flurry followed, and the knockdown came moments later. Ruiz hauled himself up on unsteady legs, saved only by the bell. In the corner, Manny Robles demanded a change of style and more work to the body, and the response was immediate: the veteran pushed hard through the eighth and ninth, giving the arena something to believe in. Yet in the championship rounds Knyba reasserted control behind his jab.
Opinion beyond the ropes was split. Timothy Bradley criticised the American's thin body work, Shawn Porter Jr defended his commitment, and Bud Crawford credited the Pole with a near-flawless tactical plan. Ruiz traced the defeat back to his opponent's approach. "I think it was holding and not being able to get my combinations," he reflected. The loss lands hard, but retirement is not on his mind. "We fought a great fighter. I had to take a risk but I'm not done," he insisted.
