Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. returned from a two-year layoff to face Poland’s Damian Knyba in a 12-round main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The card also featured Vito Mielnicki Jr. against Austin “Ammo” Williams in the co-feature, along with Alan Chaves vs. Eridson Garcia and Zaquin Moses vs. Angel Antonio Contreras.
Damian Knyba (18-1, 11 KOs) pulled off the upset, defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-3-1, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision with scores of 117-110, 114-113, and 114-113. Knyba used his height, reach, and jab to control much of the fight as Ruiz struggled to close the distance. The Polish heavyweight dropped Ruiz hard in the seventh round with a right hook and nearly secured the stoppage before the bell. Ruiz rallied in the eighth and ninth, but Knyba regained control down the stretch.
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In the co-feature, Vito Mielnicki Jr. (24-1, 13 KOs) retained his WBO Global and WBC Continental Americas middleweight titles with a unanimous decision over Austin Williams (20-3, 13 KOs). Mielnicki dropped Williams with a right hand in the opening round and earned identical scores of 98-91 from all three judges.
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Eridson Garcia (24-2, 14 KOs) produced another upset, handing Alan Chaves (22-1, 19 KOs) his first professional defeat to capture the WBO Latino lightweight title. Garcia dropped Chaves four times — once in the second round, twice in the fifth, and again in the ninth — before taking a unanimous decision by scores of 99-87, 99-88, and 98-88.
Opening the card, unbeaten super featherweight Zaquin Moses (8-0, 4 KOs) stopped Angel Antonio Contreras (18-11-2, 12 KOs) after five rounds. Moses controlled the action with his jab, hand speed, and southpaw pressure before Contreras remained on his stool following the fifth round.
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Image Credit: BBC