Andy Ruiz Jr.

Andy Ruiz Jr., born Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. on September 11, 1989, is a Mexican-American professional boxer and a former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super version), IBF and WBO titles in 2019, and the IBO title during that reign, which made him the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. He was born in Imperial, California, to parents who had immigrated from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. He had a passion for baseball before his father got him into boxing, and has noted that his first fight was at age seven in San Diego. He later worked for his father in construction for a time before deciding to become a full-time boxer and starting his amateur career in Mexico. His nickname, Destroyer, was acquired before he started boxing.