The only thing that Andy Ruiz would love more than a showdown with Deontay Wilder is a fight of any kind within the next three to four months. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

The former unified heavyweight titlist ended a sixteen-month ring absence with a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over former title challenger Luis Ortiz. Ruiz scored three knockdowns, proving to be the difference on the scorecards in winning by scores of 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 in their September 4 Fox Sports Pay-Per-View headliner at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Getting the win was the most important part, though it came with plenty of room for improvement.

“I would give it a B,” Ruiz told BoxingScene,com and other reporters of his performance. “I was coming off a year layoff. I was fighting a strong veteran who hits hard. He’s a lefty, the first lefty that I’ve faced. He was actually saying he was going to knock me down. He didn’t do that one time. I just thank God that I was able to drop him. I didn’t get the (knockout) but thank God I got the victory.

“It’s back to the gym for me. I felt rusty after having not fought for a while. I plan to be more active moving forward, whether Wilder or whoever else comes my way.”

The fight was just the second for Ruiz (35-2, 22KOs) since his pair of title fights with England’s Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22KOs) prior to the pandemic.

Ruiz made history in becoming the first fighter of Mexican descent to win a piece of the heavyweight crown following a seventh-round stoppage of Joshua in their June 2019 clash. The reign was short-lived, with the Imperial, California native retunring the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO titles to Joshua after a lopsided points loss in their December 2019 rematch.

There was talk at the time of Ruiz and Ortiz colliding in the first half of 2020, only for those plans to get shut down due to the global health crisis. Ruiz wound up sitting out all of 2020 and well into 2021 before facing and beating Chris Arreola last May 1 in Carson, California. A knee injury requiring surgery would keep Ruiz out of the ring for the rest of the year, while external factors led to a delay in finalizing a fight date with Ortiz.

Sunday’s win leaves Ruiz as the number-two contender for the WBC heavyweight title, with Wilder (42-2-1, 41KOs) ahead of him in the rankings. The former long-reigning WBC titlist will end a lengthy layoff of his own as he faces Robert Helenius atop an October 15 Fox Sports PPV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A win could potentially set up a clash of former heavyweight titleholders in 2023, though Ruiz would love a fight of any kind in the interim.

“I want to go straight to the gym again,” noted Ruiz. “I didn’t feel like I was at my one hundred percent but we got the victory. I just want to stay busy."

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox