{"id":1311039,"date":"2019-06-05T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/historic-andy-ruiz-win-jolts-elation-among-mexican-americans\/"},"modified":"2019-06-05T11:40:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T17:40:00","slug":"historic-andy-ruiz-win-jolts-elation-among-mexican-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/historic-andy-ruiz-win-jolts-elation-among-mexican-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Andy Ruiz win jolts elation among Mexican Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Andy Ruiz poses for photographs after a heavyweight title boxing match against Anthony Joshua on Saturday, June 1, 2019, in New York. Ruiz won in the seventh round. (AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II)<\/strong>
AP | AP<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. \u2014 The Madison Square Garden crowd booed when giant screens showed the chubby challenger, Andy Ruiz Jr., walking to the ring as a big underdog to the charismatic, handsome heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n

But in homes and bars across the American Southwest, Mexican Americans like Aaron and Patrick Pico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, cheered the other way \u2014 even though almost no one thought Ruiz had a legitimate shot at a title.<\/p>\n

Then, a seventh round knockout upended boxing\u2019s most glamorous weight class and made Ruiz, the son of immigrants raised in a U.S.-Mexico border town, an overnight folk hero among many people of Mexican ancestry in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething told me to watch the fight,\u201d Pico said. \u201cI\u2019m glad I did. It made me so proud. He grew up similar to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On social media, in gyms and at family barbeques, Mexican Americans with deep roots in boxing culture say they see themselves in Ruiz, saying his win bucks stereotypes about Latinos as well as notions about what athletes should look like. While boxing experts and sports talk show hosts ridiculed the roughly 25-1 underdog for his potbelly, Mexican Americans rallied around an athlete who was essentially unknown before he handed Joshua his first loss as a pro.<\/p>\n

Ruiz\u2019s upset also came amid heated political rhetoric around immigration and growing influence of Latinos in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked. I was elated,\u201d Matt Sedillo, 37, a Mexican American poet who watched the fight in Los Angeles. \u201cNo one gave him a chance like very few people give us a chance\u2026at anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, Mexican Americans like Oscar De La Hoya have captured boxing titles previously. But those wins came in lower weight divisions \u2014 no Mexican boxer weighing more than 168 pounds (76 kilograms) had ever won a championship before Ruiz, said Rudy Mondragon, a UCLA Chicana and Chicano Studies doctoral candidate who is studying boxing.<\/p>\n

Mexican-born Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, had been the heaviest champion of Mexican descent, Mondragon said.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if Ruiz can defend his title \u2014 and he could potentially be an underdog again when that time comes. Joshua\u2019s promoter said a rematch clause in the contract was triggered Tuesday, setting up a potential rematch later this year. Ruiz\u2019s camp hasn\u2019t commented on whether Ruiz has agreed to the fight.<\/p>\n

For generations, boxing has played an important role in Mexican American cultural and Mexican American civil rights. The 1952 movie \u201cThe Ring,\u201d starring Rita Moreno, for example, follows a Mexican American boxer from East Los Angeles fighting racism. Future Chicano Movement leader Rodolfo \u201cCorky\u201d Gonzales began his career as a popular boxer in Denver before turning to activism.<\/p>\n

During his 1968 presidential campaign, Robert Kennedy repeatedly mentioned Mexican American boxers while speaking to audiences in Los Angeles. \u201cThis week, an American of Mexican descent, Raul Rojas, fights for the featherweight championship of the world,\u201d Kennedy said after meeting with labor leader Cesar Chavez. \u201cI wish him my best but this county must ensure that Mexican Americans do not have to bleed for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruiz carried all that history into the ring against Joshua, Mondragon said.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in California\u2019s Imperial Valley across the border from Mexicali, Mexico, Ruiz made his pride in his Mexican roots clear throughout the fight and its promotion. Before the fight started, flags representing Mexico and the United States waved from his corner.<\/p>\n

When ring announcer Michael Buffer said the names of the judges \u201cshould this fight go the distance,\u201d the crowd chuckled at the idea Joshua would let it get there. Ruiz got the last laugh.<\/p>\n

Ruiz\u2019s team displayed another Mexican flag behind him as he spoke to reporters after the fight, making repeated references to his heritage, particularly when he got up after Joshua knocked him down in the third round, the first time Ruiz has ever been knocked down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to get him back, I think that\u2019s the Mexican blood in me, the Mexican warrior that I have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked in Spanish how it felt to be the first heavyweight champ of Mexican heritage, Ruiz grew even more animated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it, don\u2019t believe I won, but I did,\u201d he replied in Spanish. \u201cFeel very proud, very happy. Made history. Everything is possible. Trained hard and won. I\u2019m the first Mexican world champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his comments, (hash)MexicanWarrior began trending worldwide on Twitter. Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz created an image of Ruiz painted in the colors of the Mexican flag with the words: \u201cAndy Ruiz, Jr. World Heavyweight Champion Mexican Warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, fans on boxing websites and sports talk shows mocked Ruiz because of his physique. Sedillo thought some of the criticisms hinted at stereotypes about Mexican Americans. \u201cBut you know what? He\u2019s the champion. Period,\u201d Sedillo said.<\/p>\n

Ruiz has nevertheless changed perceptions, with boxers of Mexican descent no longer solely locked into smaller weight classes like De La Hoya or Canelo Alvarez, Mondragon said. He also doesn\u2019t look like previous Mexican American MMA champions at heavier weight classes, like Tito Ortiz, the UFC light heavyweight titleholder from 2000-2003.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s challenging Eurocentric images of beauty and fatphobia,\u201d Mondragon said. \u201cAnd if he\u2019s ever given the chance to defend his title in Mexico, it would be epic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately after the fight, Aaron Pico, 22, a mixed martial artist paused his celebration to think about Joshua\u2019s loss. \u201cI\u2019ve been there before. I\u2019ve been knocked down so I can identify,\u201d said Pico, a Whittier, California, native who trains at Albuquerque\u2019s famed Jackson Wink MMA Academy.<\/p>\n

Then, Pico started visualizing himself as Ruiz. He was back in the gym and training two days later. At times, his eyes were closed as he shadow boxed, imagining a win similar to Ruiz at MSG.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll have his chance. On June 14, the 4-2 featherweight will go up against 12-0 Hungarian-born Adam \u201cThe Kid\u201d Borics at a Bellator card in the same arena where Ruiz made history.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe comes from where I come from,\u201d Pico said. \u201cI\u2019m motivated like never before.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andy Ruiz poses for photographs after a heavyweight title boxing match against Anthony Joshua on Saturday, June 1, 2019, in New York. Ruiz won in the seventh round. (AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II)AP | AP ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. \u2014 The Madison Square Garden crowd booed when giant screens showed the chubby challenger, Andy Ruiz Jr., walking to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1311039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 15:04:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}