Ruiz Returns September 4 Against Knyba

Andy Ruiz Jr. is back, and he already knows where he wants the next chapter to end.

The former unified heavyweight champion will return on September 4 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, facing Damian Knyba in his Matchroom Boxing debut.

Ruiz has not fought since battling Jarrell Miller to a majority draw in August 2024, a result that extended his run of unconvincing performances and left his standing in the heavyweight division genuinely unclear. He is 36 years old, signed with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom last week, and is positioning September 4 as the first step in an explicit two-time championship campaign.

"I'm going to be fighting in Newark, New Jersey on September 4, baby. After we get this victory, I would love to fight all the guys that have the belts Oleksandr Usyk vacated, and we're going to become a two-time champion next year. Let's get it. I can't wait to be back at the Prudential Center, my second home,” Ruiz

The belts Usyk vacated have dispersed across the division, with Agit Kabayel holding the WBC title, Daniel Dubois the WBO, and the WBA and IBF pictures still settling. Ruiz is pointing at all of it and saying he intends to collect. Whether that ambition is realistic depends entirely on what September 4 looks like.

Knyba is the kind of opponent the assignment requires. The 6-foot-7 Polish heavyweight entered January's interim WBC title fight against Kabayel with a perfect 17-0 record and was stopped in three rounds in a performance that exposed clear limitations against elite-level opposition.

Knyba is ranked, physically imposing, and motivated to prove that the Kabayel stoppage was an aberration. Ruiz, who weighed significantly above his best fighting weight for the Miller draw and has dealt with questions about his commitment to condition throughout his career.