Sources have informed ESPN that former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz is set to face Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller on August 3 in Los Angeles. On the same night, Pitbull Cruz will defend his WBA junior welterweight title against Jose Valenzuela. These bouts are part of the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard, which is a historic event for Riyadh Season as it marks the first boxing event organized by Saudi Arabia outside the kingdom.
Andy Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) returns to the ring for the first time since his September 2022 victory over Luis Ortiz, where he secured a unanimous decision after knocking Ortiz down three times. Ruiz, a 34-year-old fighter from Southern California, first captured the heavyweight title in June 2019. He stepped in for Jarrell Miller, who had been removed from the bout against then-champion Anthony Joshua due to a failed doping test. Ruiz went on to lose the titles in a rematch that December, which was the first major boxing event hosted in Saudi Arabia.
Jarrell Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), originally from Brooklyn, last fought in December, suffering a 10th-round TKO defeat to Daniel Dubois in Riyadh. The 35-year-old has faced suspensions twice in boxing and once in his kickboxing career for PED use.
In the junior welterweight division, Pitbull Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) is set to make his first title defense after clinching the belt last month with an eighth-round TKO against Rolly Romero, marking his debut at 140 pounds. Since his narrow defeat to Gervonta Davis in December 2021, the 25-year-old Mexican has tallied four consecutive victories. Cruz is currently ranked as ESPN’s No. 5 junior welterweight.
Jose Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), a 24-year-old Mexican, enters the ring following a decisive sixth-round knockout victory over Chris Colbert in a rematch this past December. Prior to this win, Valenzuela suffered two consecutive losses—a decision defeat to Colbert and a third-round knockout by Edwin De Los Santos. The upcoming fight with Cruz will be his first at the 140-pound weight class.