Chubby champion Andy Ruiz Jr shows off title belts from a Rolls-Royce with wife Julia in low-key homecoming
ANDY Ruiz toured his hometown in California in an soft top Rolls-Royce – but only 10,000 fans came out to welcome him.
The low-key homecoming was typical of the little-known chubby boxer who shocked the world to beat Anthony Joshua three weeks ago in one of boxing’s greatest ever upsets.
Ruiz and his wife Julie sat on the back of a maroon and grey Rolls Royce convertible and waved to fans in his hometown Imperial, which has a population of 17,000 and is just a couple of miles from the border with Mexico.
The car was borrowed from a dealership in Rancho Mirage.
Ruiz, who admits he lives off Snickers bars and junk food, and his wife each held one of his four belts, and family members carried the other two.
A mariachi band played and cowboys twirled lassos to hail the Mexico-born champion.
DJs played on several street corners, blasting out classic tunes like Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, the Rocky theme and Queen’s We are the Champions.
County Supervisor Mike Kelley said: “It’s the biggest deal to hit the front page of Imperial County in many, many years.
“I mean, he holds the same stage as Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson, and he’s a guy from Imperial County.”
“He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. It was more like born with rusty barbwire.
“But he spit it out, took life by the reins and made it happen.
“The support is bleeding out of every community member in Imperial County.”
Ruiz, who is due to fight Joshua again in a rematch later this year, spoke to his fans in the border town.
The champ, who knocked Joshua down four times before the fight was stopped, said: “I’m still pinching myself to see if this is real.
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“This is a dream come true that I’ve been dreaming since I was six years old, when I first went to a boxing gym.
“But once I seen him fall, I was just like, whoa! This is my opportunity. This is my chance. I still have this opportunity to win.
“I was hungry. I was mentally focused for that fight. I did not want to lose in front of my family or get beat up in front of my family.”