On Saturday, October 19, The Boxing Club on 15th street in San Diego’s East Village hosted a three-hour visit from Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr., the current WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO World Heavyweight Champion and his entourage from Imperial County who held not only a Press Conference, a regular work-out session but this meet and greet for a ton of local fans.
“Don’t worry Andy, we got your back.” With a dedicated group like this behind him, perhaps we shouldn’t be all that worried about Andy Ruiz Jr.’s rematch with Anthony Joshua.Tip: Whenever you see any of the four vehicles shown here, that means the Heavyweight Champ is in the house. The four vehicles were used in the caravan that transported the champ and his team across the mountain range between San Diego and Imperial, Calif. which is a two hour and 10-minute drive over some steep Mountain ranges on the Rte. 8 Kumeyaay Highway through Alpine, Pine Valley, Mt. Laguna and finally the Sonoran desert. June 1, 2019, was the night Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. from Imperial, Calif. stood tall over the fallen Anthony Joshua and became the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Locally and possibly worldwide, everyone and their brother heard the news of Andy Ruiz Jr.’s conquest, after he pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Heavyweight Boxing History. The only other upsets in heavyweight boxing history that can compare are the George Foreman KO win over Michael Moore, the Corrie Sanders of South Africa surprise upset of Wladimir Klitschko and the Buster Douglas knockout of Mike Tyson.
Word to the wise! Before you know it, it will be time for this mandatory rematch with the revenge-minded Anthony Joshua in far-off Diriyah, Saudia Arabia, where we can guarantee your travel expenses and hotel costs to attend this fight will be quite expensive. If you’re planning to attend the fight in person, make note it’s a long, long way to Diriyah, Saudia Arabia and you’ll also have this difference of 11 time zones. For example, if it is 4:57 in the morning here in San Diego, Calif., it is already 2:57 p.m. in the afternoon in Saudi Arabia. If you’re planning to attend the fight, Saudi Arabia began offering tourist visas for the first time on Friday, September 27, 2019, plus visas on arrival to citizens of 49 countries. To apply for a visa, one must register at www.VisitSaudi.com and fill out an application. Documents required include a passport with a validity of more than 6 months from the time of arrival in the kingdom and an address where one is staying. Most European countries are already included on this list, as is the United States. If your country is not on the list, you’re asked to contact a Saudi Embassy. Tourists can spend up to 90 days in-country on each visit.
At this point, the Andy Ruiz Jr. fans and family should be a nervous wreck as their Champion now has his sites set on defending his four titles: the WBA Super World Heavyweight Title, the International Boxing Federation World Heavyweight Title, the World Boxing Organization’s World Heavyweight Title, plus the International Boxing Organization’s World Heavyweight Title against the 6’6” tall, brawny athlete with that scary 82” reach. Anthony “AJ” Joshua from Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, is a gifted athlete with a record of 22-1, 21 KOs and as mentioned he’ll have that four-inch height advantage, plus the added 8-inch reach advantage.
Call it what you will, a rush to judgment, a miss-calculation or whatever, the Anthony Joshua promoter/management team plus his trainer already made one mistake when they sought out Andy Ruiz Jr. to fill the vacancy left by the original opponent, a gentleman by the name of Jarrell Miller who failed multiple drug tests. At this point, that same group will be more focused and calculating. For them, it will be like a chess match where they’ll be considering every move, every detail, from diet to their boxer’s sleep pattern, anything that can be a distraction. Also, they’ll now be studying a lot of film of their opponent to make certain they have the right game plan plus, they’ll have secured the best available pre-fight sparring partners.
Meanwhile, the Andy Ruiz Jr. entourage has taken part in two parades, one in the Imperial Valley and a second in Los Angeles. Andy Ruiz Jr. was also hosted and then celebrated in Mexico City by the President of Mexico and the World Boxing Council and now, here in San Diego at The Boxing Club.
One of the earliest arrivals for this Meet and Greet was Lou Messina of Global Sports Streaming and Borizteca Boxing Promotions (left) who just finished receiving his VIP Credentials from the co-owner’s lovely sister, Irena Boostani.Once inside, Mr. Messina had to join the other members of the Press and several of the members of The Boxing Club’s training staff to include undefeated Pro Boxer Giovanni Santillan (rear, center) and There were a great many boxing fans in attendance at this three hour, combination Press Conference, workout and meet and greet. One of the top young amateur boxers, Nico Sanchez and his father were in attendance. Nico, a future Pro, is now a three-time National Champion with two of the quickest hands ever.Several accomplished Mixed Martial Artists were seen in this very long line. Several of the gentlemen in this long line couldn’t help but make a remark or two about this young lady having such stunning legs and asked if she was a model.Just as you would have for most major events, the Boxing Club management had several ushers on duty to assist with the expected large crowd.Once inside you get your first sighting of this impressive mural of Muhammad Ali which was painted by local artists Kyle Boatwright and Kelcey Fisher. Then, on the other side of this huge vestibule is an eight-foot by eight-foot painting of the battered screen actor Edward Norton from a scene in that movie “Fight Club.” Since he’s completely beaten up in that painting, it gives the gym’s membership inspiration, a reminder of why people come to work out. It’s an incentive to be able to handle themselves once they step out the door. Another take on that Edward Norton painting? Since we often celebrate great actors in Southern California, that impressive floor to ceiling painting may have been inspired by Norton’s performance in Primal Fear (1996), or perhaps when he gained an extra 30 pounds of muscle to transform his look into that of a monstrous skinhead for his role as a violent white supremacist in American History X in 1998. Norton is a great character actor.Enough about Ed Norton, the man of the hour was the real-life World Heavyweight Champ Andy Ruiz Jr. who in this photo had been surrounded by members of the Press.Before long it was time for the much-desired one on one photos with the Champ.Within just a few seconds, these two gentlemen and those who followed this gentleman would become lifelong buddies with the world heavyweight champ.Waiting patiently on the other side of the glass for a glimpse of their hero, these youngsters were great examples of the utmost politeness you saw in this crowd of wellwishers.The two champions, three-time USA Amateur Champ Nico Sanchez of San Diego and the current WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO World Heavyweight Champ Andy Ruiz Jr. finally meet. Like a well-oiled machine, Andy Ruiz Jr. made certain his fans were taken care of. The 1000 and 1 questions from the interviews went nonstop while the cameras kept rolling, They say no one in the Boxing Media has a better grasp of who will eventually end up being a Champion or at least a top contender than Emmy & Golden Mike Award Winner Elie Seckbach of ESN News, seen here with 3-time USA Amateur National Champ Nico Sanchez. Waiting patiently in the crowd just like everyone else is Giovani Santillan and his father who is considered one of the best trainers in the sport.
One person has remained constant through all the latest turmoil and it appears that the Champ recognizes this fact. You have to have someone in your corner that’s always going to be a straight shooter whether the news is good or bad. That man’s name is Manny Robles, a veteran of many wars.
At the conclusion of his workout, Andy Ruiz Jr. made certain to have a photo taken with his good buddy welterweight Giovani Santillan (24-0, 14 KOs) of the host gym,Here are six more local professionals keeping things on the down-low (left to right) former boxer Vince Parra, one of the top trainers in the sport, who’s helped Maurice Mighty Mo Hooker earn his Lightweight World Title, next is former Russian kickboxing champ and now U. S. Citizen/part-owner of The Boxing Club, Artem Sharoshkin, next is Pro boxer James Earle who recently made a successful Pro Debut, next, you have Heavyweight Boxer Matt McKinney (6-3-2, 3 KOs), then it’s Boxing promoter/ VP of Global Sports Streaming Lou Messina and finally veteran Boxing Promoter/Manager/Trainer Gabriel Quinones.
