Leonardo Ruiz puts his quality sparring to the test vs Oziel Santoyo in Mexico
Leonardo Ruiz hopes to continue making a name for himself at 154 pounds.
Ruiz will face Oziel Santoyo Saturday night at the Sala Urbana in Naucalpan, Mexico. The eight-round fight will precede the main event bout between junior welterweights Jimerr Espinoza and Angel Martinez Hernandez.
Both fights will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
The 25-year-old Ruiz (13-0, 8 knockouts), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of San Bernardino, last fought on August 23, defeating Raul Garcia of the Dominican Republic in a clash of unbeaten prospects. The win over Garcia took place over four months after Ruiz knocked out gatekeeper Esau Herrera de la Cruz in the fifth round.
Trainer Robert Garcia has seen improvement in Ruiz’s skill-set and believes he is only going to get better, and could become a legit contender in the junior middleweight division.
“This kid could do big things in boxing, especially at 154 (pounds),” Garcia told The Ring over the weekend. “He’s one of the most dedicated guys in the gym. Always trains hard, spars a lot of rounds. He’s sparring guys like (junior middleweight contender) Vergil Ortiz, Jr. Lately, he’s been sparring (unbeaten junior welterweight) Lindolfo Delgado, (lightweight contender) Raymond Muratalla a few times, (fringe junior middleweight contender) Damian Sosa. He was sparring against them for this camp.
“(Leo) is in great shape. He’s going to have a great performance and, after that, the sky’s the limit. He had a great win on ProBox TV. They offered us more fights, but I think Leo wants to experience other things. He doesn’t want to always just fight in Florida. He’s fighting (near) Mexico City. He was born in Zacatecas. This is perfect for him that he’s fighting in Mexico.”
Ruiz also has a one-sided victory over well-known gatekeeper Cameron Krael.
Santoyo (16-2-1, 9 KOs) defeated Bervely Garcia Gonzalez by unanimous decision in his last fight on November 9 in his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. Santoyo has won his last three fights since losing by decision to Brandon Perez Chavero in February 2022.
The 29-year-old is best known for a June 2019 victory over Omar Chavez and a decision win over Manuel Gallegos, who entered the fight unbeaten, over four months later.
Garcia also has another fighter on the Miura Boxing card. Albert Gonzalez (7-0, 3 KOs) of Perris, California, whom Garcia described as a “special talent,” will square off against Joel Alberto Mora (7-3-4, 5 KOs) of Tecate, Mexico in a six-round featherweight bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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