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Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr. may once again be facing off, six years after their first encounter.
According to a recent tweet from talkSPORT's Michael Benson, the New Zealander has officially reached out to 'Destroyer's' camp regarding a potential rematch. Both men are coming off big wins as of late, so the fight would make sense as a way to further the winner towards the heavyweight title picture.
See Michael Benson's tweet about a Parker vs. Ruiz Jr. rematch below:
Parker and Ruiz Jr. have met once before, in December 2016. The bout saw the WBO Heavyweight Title on the line and a potential Anthony Joshua fight in the future.
The fight was a 12 round slugfest. At the conclusion of the bout, Parker won via a razor thin majority decision. Many fans and pundits believed that Ruiz Jr. had done enough to win the bout, and that Parker received the benefit of favorable judging because the fight was in his home country.
However, with a potential rematch looming, both Parker and Ruiz Jr. have the opportunity to put any sort of controversy to bed. While no titles would be on the line in a potential bout, they have the opportunity to insert themselves into the title picture.
Both Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr. have momentum heading into a potential bout
It was a good 2021 for both Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr, as the two men scored big wins in the previous calendar year.
Parker started the year on a three-fight win streak. However, he raised that winning streak to six by scoring wins over Junior Fa and Derek Chisora (2x). While his first fight in May with 'Del Boy' was a close bout, he shoved all the controversy aside with a dominant win in the December rematch.
Andy Ruiz Jr., on the other hand, entered the year after not fighting since 2019. He underwent a trainer change following a bad loss to Anthony Joshua in their December 2019 rematch. 'Destroyer' decided to team up with trainer Eddy Reynoso, the trainer of Canelo Alvarez, and it quickly paid off.
His sole fight in 2021 was a pay-per-view showdown with heavyweight staple Chris Arreola. Ruiz Jr. was knocked down early, but picked himself off the canvas and dominated the rest of the bout to win via unanimous decision.
While a proposed rematch between Parker and Ruiz has yet to be confirmed, fans can expect details of the bout to be revealed in the weeks to come.
