World-famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has defended Andy Ruiz Jr., claiming that body doesn’t matter in a recent documentary.

The Portuguese footballer and the Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin discussed the physical condition of Ruiz, which has seen the Mexican receive swathes of scathing criticism.

On June 1 2019, Ruiz Jr. shocked the boxing world and defeated Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia to become triple world heavyweight champion (WBA, IBF and WBO).

His success also saw him become the first Mexican top heavyweight champion.

Joshua, however, regained his titles months after the previously-mentioned bout in a punch-perfect masterful display against Ruiz. The Mexican boxer has not fought since but is looking to make a return to the ring in 2021.

The sheer quality of Ruiz JR. has been witnessed by Ronaldo who has emphasised that the Mexican is 'good' and that beyond his physique, he showed he had something to face challenges with.

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Ruiz has been working with Eddy Reynoso during training to regain discipline in sports, resulting in him losing 9kg.

This might prove to be a real benefit for a fighter of Ruiz’s size. It will add speed to his game to combine with the undeniable strength that left Anthony Joshua on the canvas in 2019.

In the documentary Parallel Worlds: Ronaldo x GGG produced by DAZN, Ronaldo has said that “Joshua is one of the best, but Ruiz is good.”

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He explained that during a conversation with his friends, they said “That's what I was talking about with my friends, because they made fun of him and told me to look at Ruiz's fat body.”

Cristiano has said: “I would tell them, ‘Listen, the body doesn’t matter. What matters is preparation” which Gennady Golovkin agreed with him.

In the documentary, Cristiano highlighted the importance of preparation and how it brings an athlete forward, despite Ruiz already experienced both success and defeat at the hands of Anthony Joshua.