Ruiz Jr vs Miller Predictions: ‘Destroyer’ may be too much for ‘Big Baby’

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. takes on Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller this Saturday, August 3. This intriguing heavyweight rumble will serve as the chief support to Terence Crawford’s WBA super welterweight title challenge against Israil Madrimov.

The fight takes place at SMO Stadium in Los Angeles with DAZN PPV screening the Riyadh Season card.

Here are my Ruiz Jr. vs Miller predictions ahead of this battle of the big men.

Ruiz is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, as elusive as his underrated defence would suggest. In June 2019, ‘Destroyer’ became the first fighter of Mexican heritage to lift the world heavyweight championship. Ruiz pulled off this feat by knocking out then-WBA, WBO and IBF boss Anthony Joshua in seven thrilling rounds.

Buoyed by his success, Ruiz ate up his new-found celebrity in ways both figurative and literal. Having scaled 268 pounds for his night of glory, Ruiz turned up carrying 284 pounds on his large frame for the rematch. The extra timber told as he entered a tame performance, practically handing Joshua’s titles back in a lopsided decision loss.

Those questioning Ruiz’s motivation can take plenty of ammunition from his activity since that December 2019 defeat to Joshua. In the years since, Ruiz has fought just twice. To his credit, both outings resulted in victory. 

A win over Chris Arreola was decent, if expected. The fact Ruiz had to climb off the canvas to win was not. A points victory over Cuban danger man Luis Ortiz was downright impressive, however. Ruiz had his man on the floor three times in a dominant performance.

But then… nothing. 

Talk frequently turned to a fight with Deontay Wilder. But ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has seen his career derailed, losing to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang recently. That could easily have been Ruiz doling out career-rejuvenating beatings against the former WBC kingpin. But alas, Ruiz has stayed glued to the fringes of the division since September 2022.

Ruiz was likened to both James ‘Buster’ Douglas and Hasim Rahman when he iced ‘AJ’. Those two heavyweights each wreaked their own havoc against all odds. Douglas decimated the Mike Tyson myth while Rahman laid waste to Lennox Lewis. Each man then took divergent paths after their victories.

Both lost their titles in short order, like Ruiz. Douglas was relieved of his claim by Evander Holyfield while Lewis righted the wrong in the Rahman rematch. But their two paths after those losses diverged. 

Douglas faded from view, not fighting again for six years. Rahman, meanwhile, went to work to re-establish himself in the division. ‘The Rock’ took on all comers, fighting Holyfield, John Ruiz, David Tua, Monte Barrett and James Toney. His efforts would eventually earn him a second bite of the cherry and a reign as WBC heavyweight champion.

Ruiz’s approach has sort of split the difference between the two. He has been inactive like Douglas, though not to that extreme. But when he has fought, it has been against quality opponents, like Rahman’s rebuild. 

Now is the time for Ruiz to truly nail down his approach. A win over Miller is crucial and, if he gets it, he must double-down. Ideally there should be another outing this year at least, against a name foe if possible. 34 years of age is not old for a heavyweight. But if Ruiz does not fight again until he’s 36, then there’s a problem.

Miller, for his part, is 36. The controversial ‘Big Baby’ is not quite at the last chance saloon but, if boxing is a pub crawl, he’s arguably one bar away. In an interesting sliding-doors moment, Miller was the opponent Ruiz replaced opposite Joshua in 2019. A drugs ban for Jarrell opened the door for ‘Destroyer’ to change the face of the division.

A scheduled return against Jerry Forrest would get kiboshed after another test failure, meaning Miller was out of the ring between 2018 and 2022. ‘Big Baby’ enjoyed moderate success during his comeback, racking up three knockout wins in three outings. The only name of note was an ancient Lucas Browne, but it is typical to ease oneself back in after a lengthy lay-off.

A 10-round TKO loss to Daniel Dubois last time out perhaps tempered expectations surrounding Miller. He was game but out of shape, looking ragged as ‘Dynamite’ detonated on his in the final round of their fight. 

This clash with Ruiz could be it for Miller’s elite-level aspirations. A poor performance here could see him relegated to gatekeeper status. Another once-promising heavyweight career evaporating before our very eyes. But a victory, over a former champion of the world no less, could put Miller right back at the front of the queue.

Ruiz Jr. vs Miller Fight Odds

Ruiz is a 1/3 favourite to keep his post-Joshua winning-run going. Miller is priced at 5/2 to upset the applecart while a draw is 16/1.

Ruiz Jr. vs Miller Full Card

Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov; For the WBO interim super welterweight title and Madrimov's WBA super welterweight title 

Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller; Heavyweight 

Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole; Heavyweight 

Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Venezuela; For Cruz's WBA super lightweight title 

David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic; Light heavyweight 

Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran; Lightweight 

Steve Nelson vs. Marcos Ramon Vazquez; Super middleweight 

Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Michal Bulk; Welterweight

Ruiz Jr. vs Miller Prediction

A fight between two boxers who have been known to arrive out of shape is a tough one to call. You never quite know which version of each man will be present. But all things being equal, I find Ruiz to be the far superior fighter of the pair.

So much so that I feel he will end matters early. Look for the ‘Destroyer’ to live up to his name with a stoppage win at 5/2.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.