Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. (born September 11, 1989, in Imperial, California) is a Mexican-American professional boxer. Per Wikipedia, he is a former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO titles in 2019, becoming the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent; he also held the IBO title during that reign.
Ruiz debuted on March 28, 2009, in Tijuana, knocking out Miguel Ramirez in the first round, and lost his first world-title challenge on points to Joseph Parker for the vacant WBO title in December 2016. On June 1, 2019, he stopped Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden in one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history to win the unified championship, then lost the rematch in Saudi Arabia six months later.
BoxRec-style profile
- Birth name: Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr.
- Born: September 11, 1989 — Imperial, California, U.S.
- Nationality: Mexican-American
- Height: 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
- Reach: 74 in (188 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Pro debut: Mar 28, 2009 (Win by KO vs Miguel Ramirez)
- Last bout: Sep 4, 2026 (Loss by UD vs Damian Knyba)
- Total rounds boxed: 211 (summed from the bout table below)
- Divisions: Heavyweight
- KO percentage: 62.9% (22 KO wins in 35 wins)
- Titles held (major, with reign dates): Unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles June 1, 2019 – December 7, 2019 (won from Anthony Joshua; lost the rematch to Joshua) — first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent, per Wikipedia
- Born: September 11, 1989 — Imperial, California, U.S.
- Nationality: Mexican-American
- Height: 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
- Reach: 74 in (188 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Divisions: Heavyweight
Record at a glance
- Total bouts: 39
- Wins: 35
- Wins by KO: 22
- Losses: 3
- Losses by KO: 0
- Draws: 1
- No contests: 0
- Born: September 11, 1989 — Imperial, California, U.S.
- Nationality: Mexican-American
- Height: 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
- Reach: 74 in (188 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Divisions: Heavyweight
Fight-by-fight record
| No. | Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Round/Time | Venue / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 28, 2009 | Miguel Ramirez | Win | KO | 1 (4), 0:34 | Bullring by the Sea, Tijuana, Mexico |
| 2 | Jun 26, 2009 | Ross Brantley | Win | TKO | 1 (6), 1:37 | Plaza de toros Calafia, Mexicali, Mexico |
| 3 | Feb 12, 2010 | Juan Luis Lopez Alcaraz | Win | UD | 4 | Gimnasio Municipal, Mexicali, Mexico |
| 4 | Mar 12, 2010 | Luke Vaughn | Win | KO | 1 (4), 1:55 | Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel & Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas, U.S. |
| 5 | Oct 16, 2010 | Miles Kelly | Win | TKO | 1 (4), 1:06 | Silverton Las Vegas, Enterprise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 6 | Nov 20, 2010 | Raymond Lopez | Win | UD | 4 | WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| 7 | Dec 4, 2010 | Francisco Diaz | Win | KO | 2 (4), 1:08 | Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| 8 | Feb 5, 2011 | Kelsey Arnold | Win | TKO | 3 (6), 2:19 | Maywood Center, Maywood, California, U.S. |
| 9 | Feb 26, 2011 | Alvaro Morales | Win | UD | 6 | Pearl Concert Theater, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 10 | Apr 23, 2011 | Angel Herrera | Win | UD | 6 | WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| 11 | Jul 15, 2011 | Villi Bloomfield | Win | TKO | 4 (4), 2:04 | Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| 12 | Sep 17, 2011 | Ken Frank | Win | TKO | 2 (6), 1:53 | BlueWater Resort & Casino, Parker, Arizona, U.S. |
| 13 | Dec 17, 2011 | Theron Johnson | Win | UD | 6 | WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| 14 | Mar 23, 2012 | Homero Fonseca | Win | UD | 8 | Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| 15 | Jul 7, 2012 | Jonte Willis | Win | TKO | 8 (8), 0:54 | Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S. |
| 16 | Sep 13, 2012 | Maurenzo Smith | Win | KO | 1 (8), 2:11 | The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 17 | Dec 7, 2012 | Elijah McCall | Win | TKO | 3 (8), 2:59 | Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| 18 | Mar 16, 2013 | Matthew Greer | Win | KO | 1 (8), 2:53 | Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S. |
| 19 | Jun 8, 2013 | Carl Davis | Win | TKO | 1 (8), 0:35 | The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 20 | Jul 27, 2013 | Joe Hanks | Win | TKO | 4 (10), 1:41 | Cotai Arena, Macau, SAR — ★ Title fight — Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 21 | Nov 23, 2013 | Tor Hamer | Win | RTD | 3 (10), 3:00 | Cotai Arena, Macau, SAR — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title; Won vacant WBC-NABF heavyweight title |
| 22 | May 17, 2014 | Manuel Quezada | Win | TKO | 2 (10), 2:00 | Selland Arena, Fresno, California, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO Inter-Continental and WBC-NABF heavyweight titles |
| 23 | Oct 25, 2014 | Kenny Lemos | Win | TKO | 1 (8), 2:18 | Selland Arena, Fresno, California, U.S. |
| 24 | Dec 20, 2014 | Siarhei Liakhovich | Win | UD | 10 | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO Inter-Continental and WBC-NABF heavyweight titles |
| 25 | Sep 26, 2015 | Joell Godfrey | Win | UD | 8 | Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title |
| 26 | Oct 24, 2015 | Raphael Zumbano Love | Win | UD | 8 | CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| 27 | May 14, 2016 | Ray Austin | Win | RTD | 4 (8), 3:00 | Sportsmen's Lodge, Studio City, California, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title |
| 28 | Jul 16, 2016 | Josh Gormley | Win | TKO | 3 (10), 1:42 | Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| 29 | Sep 10, 2016 | Franklin Lawrence | Win | UD | 10 | Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title |
| 30 | Dec 10, 2016 | Joseph Parker | Loss | MD | 12 | Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand — ★ Title fight — For vacant WBO heavyweight title |
| 31 | Mar 10, 2018 | Devin Vargas | Win | KO | 1 (8), 1:38 | StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. |
| 32 | Jul 7, 2018 | Kevin Johnson | Win | UD | 10 | Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, U.S. |
| 33 | Apr 20, 2019 | Alexander Dimitrenko | Win | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, US |
| 34 | Jun 1, 2019 | Anthony Joshua | Win | TKO | 7 (12), 1:33 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. — ★ Title fight — Won WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles |
| 35 | Dec 7, 2019 | Anthony Joshua | Loss | UD | 12 | Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia — ★ Title fight — Lost WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles |
| 36 | May 1, 2021 | Chris Arreola | Win | UD | 12 | Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, U.S. |
| 37 | Sep 4, 2022 | Luis Ortiz | Win | UD | 12 | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| 38 | Aug 3, 2024 | Jarrell Miller | Draw | MD | 12 | BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| 39 | Sep 4, 2026 | Damian Knyba | Loss | UD | 12 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
Titles & notes
Major title reigns (start–end): Unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles June 1, 2019 – December 7, 2019 (won from Anthony Joshua; lost the rematch to Joshua) — first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent, per Wikipedia
- Jul 27, 2013 vs Joe Hanks: Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
- Nov 23, 2013 vs Tor Hamer: Retained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title; Won vacant WBC-NABF heavyweight title
- May 17, 2014 vs Manuel Quezada: Retained WBO Inter-Continental and WBC-NABF heavyweight titles
- Dec 20, 2014 vs Siarhei Liakhovich: Retained WBO Inter-Continental and WBC-NABF heavyweight titles
- Sep 26, 2015 vs Joell Godfrey: Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title
- May 14, 2016 vs Ray Austin: Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title
- Sep 10, 2016 vs Franklin Lawrence: Retained WBC-NABF heavyweight title
- Dec 10, 2016 vs Joseph Parker: For vacant WBO heavyweight title
- Jun 1, 2019 vs Anthony Joshua: Won WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
- Dec 7, 2019 vs Anthony Joshua: Lost WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
Photo: NotimexTV via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Featured image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Andy_Ruiz_Jr.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=original
Record source: Wikipedia professional boxing record table (cross-checked against the bout list), retrieved 2026-10-27.
