To the delight of the sizable Mexican community in Detroit, on Saturday, July 16, world-rated Mexican heavyweight contender Andy “The Destroyer from Mexicali” Ruiz will appear in the 10-round main event of Salita Promotions’ next “Detroit Brawl” installment at the Masonic Temple in Downtown Detroit. 26-year-old Ruiz, from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, is a former amateur standout, now undefeated at 27-0, 18 KOs as a professional and rated WBO #5, IBF #5, and WBC #7 at heavyweight. Ruiz is the current NABF heavyweight champion and has already made four successful defenses. Before that, he held the WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Championship and made an additional three successful defenses before relinquishing.
In his last in-ring appearance, Ruiz stopped former world title challenger Ray Austin in the fourth round on May 14 in Studio City, California.
“I cannot wait to get back into the ring,” said Ruiz. “I’ve got some thunder coming with me to Detroit.”
Sponsored by Greektown Casino and Thomas Magee’s Sporting House Whiskey Bar, tickets for “Detroit Brawl” will be priced at VIP $123, Box Seats $100, Ringside $93, Reserved $63 and $38, and Balcony $28, and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and Tickmaster.com.
“I am very excited about bringing another sensational show to Detroit that will feature local talent as well as some of the best fighters from around the country and the world,” said Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions. “I have a vision of helping Detroit become known as America’s Greatest Comeback City and the East Coast hub of professional boxing. With each show, we are showcasing great fighters and building a fan base locally and around the world.”
Giving the “Detroit Brawl” crowd its usual international flavor will be red-hot welterweight KO artist Bakhtiyer Eubov (10-0, 10 KOs) of Aktjubinsk, Kazakhstan making a very special six-round appearance, along with welterweights Giorgi Gelashvili (4-0, 2 KOs) Brooklyn via Georgia and Serdar Hadurbadyev (2-0, 2 KOs) of Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan in other six-round bouts.
Making his long-awaited four-round pro debut that night will be “Southpaw Prince” Gheith Karim, a three-time national amateur champion from Dearborn, Michigan. A product of the Kronk Gym, Karim was being touted as a future star by legendary Kronk founder Emanuel Steward since the age of 11. He will compete as a junior middleweight.
Also scheduled for action that night are crowd-favorite Detroit prospects including cruiserweight Demetrius Banks (7-0, 4 KOs) in a six-rounder; middleweight Dorell Van Horn Jr (9-0, 6 KOs) in a six-rounder; as well as Detroit bantamweight Jarico O’Quinn (1-0, 1 KO); super bantamweight Zach Shamoun (3-0-1, 3 KOs) of Bloomfield Hills Michigan; and cruiserweight Clarence Dubose (3-0, 3 KOs) of Eastpointe, Michigan, in separate four-rounders.