Andy Ruiz Jr. is ready to take on another significant challenge. He’s got plenty practice in recent weeks. Leah Maya Ruiz was born on July 2. Her father went back in the ring the next day, sparring in preparation for his return against Jarrell Miller on Saturday night.

‘It’s strange, I chose the name just before they were about to give us the birth certificate,’ the heavyweight reveals. His girlfriend, Mayeli, had chosen what she wanted to name their first daughter. Unfortunately, Ruiz was unconvinced.

Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. returns to the ring after nearly two years away.

‘It was supposed to be Landy,’ he says. “I felt like…babe, she’s going to be mad at me!” She will think, “Dad, were you trying to name me (after) your name or what?”

Fortunately, they had a list of alternatives, and Leah Maya ultimately won out. ‘I simply thought it was a lovely name,’ Ruiz explains.’It just brings me pleasure again, dude.’ She weighed 9lbs, 5oz. She was a large 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢.

Miller, often known as ‘Big Baby’, weighed 296 pounds more than tiny Leah.

For Ruiz, the previous several weeks have been spent managing his responsibilities as a parent and combatant. ‘We returned back to my place and enjoyed the Fourth of July together. Then boxing took over once more.

‘I can’t lose concentration just because my daughter is here,’ the heavyweight explains. ‘That should increase my motivation and hunger to win this battle.’ So should the opportunities that are just around the bend. Even at 34.

Incredibly, five years have gone since Miller failed a drugs test – not for the last time – and Ruiz was brought in to help Anthony Joshua look good in his American debut.

Instead, throughout seven wild rounds, Ruiz bounced AJ about Madison Square Garden, securing one of boxing’s biggest upsets.

Suddenly, this ‘chubby lad’ with fast fists became the unified heavyweight champion. All of a sudden, the Mexican-American was on the verge of more major battles and big paydays.

Ruiz is planning a trilogy with Joshua, who exacted vengeance six months later but has had his own turbulent path between darkness and light in recent years. They met last year in Saudi Arabia, where Joshua defeated Otto Wallin.

Five years have gone since Ruiz defeated Anthony Joshua in one of boxing’s biggest ever upsets.

‘He approached where my girlfriend and I were seated and said, “Hey, I’m ready for you.” I am better. I’m back,” says Ruiz. The 34-year-old was confused at first.

‘What the heck?’ he wondered. ‘He’s still thinking about me and wants to fight again. I’m confident he found himself again. He regained his motivation. And that is precisely what I need to accomplish.

The fact that such contests and money remain within reach exemplifies boxing’s twisted meritocracy. Regardless, Ruiz was mocked for losing his belts almost immediately. Regardless, Saturday’s fight against Miller is his first in over two years, and only his third since losing to Joshua in December 2019.

‘Everybody experiences rollercoasters in their life,’ Ruiz adds. ‘Unfortunately, I had my ups, had to learn, and had to face my downs. Since I began praying, I have grown closer to God. And he’s been quite helpful to me.

What did he find out? ‘Someone has to go through their lowest point to comprehend everything that transpired.’ And to fulfill their purpose.

‘Unfortunately, I had my ups, I had to learn, and I had to go towards my downs,’ Ruiz says

‘I’m happy for all the ups and downs that I had to go through. Because without that, nobody can learn about themselves. Things had to go that way. It’s like I was born again.’ Now Ruiz feels 34 going on 31.

We have been down this road before, of course. It was back in April 2021, nearly two years on from that crowning night, that Ruiz spoke to with brutally honesty about his spiral – from all the parades and the parties to the emptiness, the regret and the days when he wished he could crawl under his bed and eat Cheerio’s.

‘I shut myself like a turtle’, he admitted at the time. He smoked and drank and battled depression and considered calling it quits. But then ‘everything changed’. He had a new trainer and – crucially – a different ‘mentality, spirit, everything.’

Ruiz is eyeing a third fight with Joshua, who exacted revenge with victory in December 2019

‘I feel like all the bad vibes that I had before are all flushed down the toilet,’ Ruiz says. ‘I feel like a brand new person. Now I’m going into a fight on August 3rd without any problems, without any drama.’

Earlier this year, it was reported that Ruiz’s ex-partner was granted a restraining order against the heavyweight amid allegations of ‘𝓈ℯ𝓍ual, physical and psychological abuse’.

‘It’s like I was born again,’ the former champion stated ahead of this weekend’s comeback to the ring.

Ruiz hopes to win the crown in 2025, but he must first go past Miller. They’re pals, and he has a lot to thank Big Baby for. These failed tests transformed both boxers’ careers and the scene of heavyweight boxing.

They now face in Los Angeles on a show headlined by pound-for-pound legend Terence Crawford. Ruiz and Miller were thrown in separate ways over those few weeks in 2019. Really, their paths should not have met. But this is boxing, and here is where Ruiz will find himself by 2024.

I know I could have found someone simpler for my tune-up battle. But I believe he’s perfect,” Ruiz says.

‘It seems like I’m beginning anew… I simply need to climb the ladder again, guy. I need to stay motivated, ready, and prepared.

‘If I win on August 3rd, I will undoubtedly want to compete again in two years. I don’t want to live through it again. Now that I’ve removed all of the negative elements from my life, I’m ready to hit it hard.