Even nearly six weeks after scoring a major upset win over Anthony Joshua, Andy Ruiz Jr. is still getting accolades for his historic win.
During the 2019 ESPYs, Ruiz picked up an ESPY for Best Upset after stopping Joshua in the seventh round to win the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles on June 1 at Madison Square Garden. Ruiz came on to replace Jarrell Miller, who was Joshua's original opponent, but failed multiple drug tests which left ineligible to fight Joshua.
Ruiz's win over Joshua beat out three other candidates for the award: the Columbus Blue Jackets beating the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the 2019 Stanley Cup, the Old Dominion college football team beating Virginia Tech and Naomi Osaka beating Serena Williams to win the 2018 U.S. Tennis Open.
Both Ruiz and Joshua are currently negotiating a rematch that could potentially take place either in November or December at an unspecified location. Ruiz became the first male Mexican heavyweight world champion in history.
The newly-crowned unified heavyweight champion isn't the only boxer to win an ESPY as Canelo Alvarez also picked up one for Best Boxer. Alvarez won the award after picking up wins against the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin last September, followed by a win over Rocky Fielding last December and then a win over Daniel Jacobs back on May 4.
Alvarez won the award over three other nominees: former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, current WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford and unified WBA/WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. The 28-year-old Alvarez is still finding an opponent for his next fight, tentatively scheduled for September 14.
