By: Sean Crose
One has been the picture of driving discipline. The other? Perhaps not so much. Still both Katie Taylor and Andy Ruiz are going to be the highlights of boxing for this first week of September 2026. Ireland’s Taylor is having her last battle at home before retiring from the ring where she found glory. Ruiz on the other hand is hoping to come back after a checkered few years. Indeed, Ruiz hasn’t look spectacular since that night in 2019 when he stunned the world by defeating Anthony Joshua then a world champion in Joshua’s American debut. How long it’s been.
The two fighters Taylor and Ruiz seem to have absolutely nothing in common. Ruiz probably has a good hundred pounds over Taylor. What’s more Taylor has fought consistently we’re Ruiz hasn’t. They do have something in common though. they’re both pleasant people. That’s certainly not always the case in contemporary boxing. Both Ruiz and Taylor put more stock and being polite and likable than they do in rifling feathers. In that sense they both present themselves as legitimate professionals, not oversized personalities trying to cash in at the expense of the sport. That however may be where the commonalities end…with one exception.
Both Taylor and Ruiz can thrill an audience. Taylor’s first two battles against Amanda Serrano were as good as boxing gets. There were even some moments when the two women reached near Hagler-Hearns status. Their fights, simply put, let any naysayers know just how good woman’s boxing could be. It’s why Taylor – and also Serrano – deserve to be remembered as all time great practitioners of the sport. Ruiz himself has certainly proven he can get pulses racing. He was actually a last minute replacement for Jarrell Miller when he squared off against Joshua in Madison Garden. It takes real guts to that. Joshua wasn’t – and isn’t – a fighter one should face without going through a thorough training camp.
Ruiz dared to be great however, and the results were the stuff boxing legends are made of. After being dropped by Joshua early on, Ruiz got up, then proceeded to drop Joshua. Clearly concussed, Joshua stumbled through the remainder of the bout before he was finally saved by the referee in the 7th. It was a classic moment for boxing no doubt. Unfortunately, Ruiz didn’t use his newfound prominence to forward his career. Joshua saw to it that he would win their rematch by changing up his strategy and outboxing the dangerous Ruiz. Out of shape and seemingly half interested, Ruiz let his heavyweight title belts, as well as his time to once again shine, slip away.
Taylor on the other gloved hand, never allowed herself to fall from the top of the mountain. After losing her junior welterweight belts to Chantelle Cameron, Taylor came back and won them back from Cameron in the rematch. She then went on to face Serrano twice in a row. Her final fight this Saturday will be against the undefeated Flora Pili in Dublin. Ruiz will be facing Damian Knyba, who is also undefeated save for a single loss to Agit Kabayel in Germany at the beginning of the year. Unlike Taylor, Ruiz is looking to restart his career this weekend when he faces Knyba in New Jersey. His entire future stands before him, and truth be told be told, Ruiz is indeed looking good in the leadup to the fight, having reportedly dropped forty pounds. Here’s hoping the man is as focused as Taylor has been throughout her career. There’s only thing boxing fans love more than an underdog win – and that’s a successful comeback. Ruiz has a chance to do just that this weekend in Newark.
