Andy Ruiz Jr. wins by unanimous decision over Luis Ortiz, owns heavyweight belt again

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Andy Ruiz Jr. landed just enough big punches on Luis Ortiz to make up for his mistakes and caution in a narrow victory that kept him on the path for a chance to become the heavyweight champion again.

Ruiz knocked down Ortiz three times on his way to a victory by unanimous decision Sunday night.

Former three-division world champion Abner Mares also fought to a majority draw with Miguel Flores in Mares' return from a four-year ring absence on the pay-per-view undercard. Lightweight Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz then stopped Eduardo Ramirez in the second round with two vicious knockdowns.

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Referee Thomas Taylor lifts the arm up of Andy Ruiz Jr. after his unanimous decision win over Luis Ortiz during a WBC world heavyweight title eliminator fight on Sept. 4, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)

In the main event, Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) grinded out a decision over Ortiz (33-3), a two-time world title challenger. The Southern California native knocked down the 43-year-old Ortiz twice in the second round and again in the seventh, but his Cuban opponent battled through a badly swollen left eye and punched more accurately during long stretches of relative inactivity for both fighters.

"I worked so hard for this fight, because I knew he’s a warrior, and he hits hard," Ruiz said. "I thought I did a beautiful job boxing him around and handling his pressure."

The judges scored the bout 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 for Ruiz. The Associated Press also had Ruiz 114-111, with the knockdowns making the difference.

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Ruiz pulled off one of the