It's rare that 2 unbeaten Heavyweights collide though that's exactly what we get this Saturday in Macau as Mexican "Destroyer" Andy Ruiz Jr (19-0, 13) takes on American Joe "The Future" Hanks (21-0, 14).
Aged 30 Hanks is really pushing the tag of "The Future" though he certainly looks the part of an athlete with ripped muscles and the sort of body shape we rarely see in the division in this era.
Having been a professional since 2007 Hanks has repeatedly promised a lot but is yet to really deliver. He has looked like a solid prospect in victories over fighters like Ashanti Jordan, Cliff Couser, Johnnie White and Marcus Rhode though in all honesty for a fighter with 21 wins under his belt none of those wins blow us away.
Hanks is quick, powerful and for a 6'4" fighter he has really nice movement though he is untested and nothing really stands out about him in the ring. There's no wow factor with him and whilst nothing is out and out bad about him there is almost nothing to suggest that he's going to be the next American Heavyweight champion.
Whilst Hanks looks the part of a professional athlete it's fair to say that Ruiz doesn't. The 23 year old Mexican looks more like a sumo wrestler than a boxer but yet is an incredibly surprising fighter inside the ring and proves that looks are deceptive.
From just purely looking at Ruiz you'd expect him to be slow, clumsy and cumbersome with awful stamina. Instead he's lightning quick with his hands (which may well be the quickest in the sport), he's surprisingly accurate and crisp with his shots, and well schooled and has yet to look like he's struggled in terms of stamina.
Able to mix it it to the head and body Ruiz looks like he could be a star in the making. Like Hanks he has yet to score a victory at "the next level" though he has never looked like he was going to lose to the opponents he has faced so far.
For both men it's fair to say this is a step up, though that, in all honesty says more about their opponents so far.
In the ring we expect Ruiz to be the faster, the more powerful and the more schooled. Hanks does have height and reach advantages over Ruiz and if he's going to win he'll have to try and establish the range and prevent Ruiz from getting to work on the inside. If Ruiz can get in and out and rattle off his eye catching combinations there is only going to be one winner though if Ruiz can be prevented from getting in and out this will be very easy for Hanks.
Prediction
With Ruiz's handspeed, combinations and intelligent movement we see him picking apart Hanks who will start fine but within 2 or 3 rounds he'll be feeling the effects of Ruiz's body shots. With the body shots taking their toll on Hanks we fancy Ruiz forcing a mid-to-late stoppage between rounds 6-9.
Ruiz by TKO 8
Aged 30 Hanks is really pushing the tag of "The Future" though he certainly looks the part of an athlete with ripped muscles and the sort of body shape we rarely see in the division in this era.
Having been a professional since 2007 Hanks has repeatedly promised a lot but is yet to really deliver. He has looked like a solid prospect in victories over fighters like Ashanti Jordan, Cliff Couser, Johnnie White and Marcus Rhode though in all honesty for a fighter with 21 wins under his belt none of those wins blow us away.
Hanks is quick, powerful and for a 6'4" fighter he has really nice movement though he is untested and nothing really stands out about him in the ring. There's no wow factor with him and whilst nothing is out and out bad about him there is almost nothing to suggest that he's going to be the next American Heavyweight champion.
Whilst Hanks looks the part of a professional athlete it's fair to say that Ruiz doesn't. The 23 year old Mexican looks more like a sumo wrestler than a boxer but yet is an incredibly surprising fighter inside the ring and proves that looks are deceptive.
From just purely looking at Ruiz you'd expect him to be slow, clumsy and cumbersome with awful stamina. Instead he's lightning quick with his hands (which may well be the quickest in the sport), he's surprisingly accurate and crisp with his shots, and well schooled and has yet to look like he's struggled in terms of stamina.
Able to mix it it to the head and body Ruiz looks like he could be a star in the making. Like Hanks he has yet to score a victory at "the next level" though he has never looked like he was going to lose to the opponents he has faced so far.
For both men it's fair to say this is a step up, though that, in all honesty says more about their opponents so far.
In the ring we expect Ruiz to be the faster, the more powerful and the more schooled. Hanks does have height and reach advantages over Ruiz and if he's going to win he'll have to try and establish the range and prevent Ruiz from getting to work on the inside. If Ruiz can get in and out and rattle off his eye catching combinations there is only going to be one winner though if Ruiz can be prevented from getting in and out this will be very easy for Hanks.
Prediction
With Ruiz's handspeed, combinations and intelligent movement we see him picking apart Hanks who will start fine but within 2 or 3 rounds he'll be feeling the effects of Ruiz's body shots. With the body shots taking their toll on Hanks we fancy Ruiz forcing a mid-to-late stoppage between rounds 6-9.
Ruiz by TKO 8