Andy Ruiz Jr has claimed that he would like either of Luis Ortiz or Dillian Whyte to be his next opponent.

The 31-year-old became the unified world heavyweight champion by defeating Anthony Joshua in 2019. However, he then fought AJ once more a few months later to defend those titles, but lost via unanimous decision in a very one-sided affair.

After months away from the ring and months of reflecting on his career, Ruiz returned to the spotlight in May of this year, defeating Chris Arreola in California via unanimous decision. He did, however, get dropped early on in that fight.

The Destroyer is eager for another challenge, and while speaking on the Hotboxin podcast with boxing royalty Mike Tyson, he said that he could face either of Ortiz or Whyte. 

Ruiz said: "There is a lot of different options out there, we have Luis Ortiz who keeps calling me out at the moment. We also have Whyte from the UK who I could fight, I have to just stay in shape now and focus and be waiting for the next challenge."

p1f8hke0cc1rku182217c5qrl1vcdp.jpg

The 31-year-old added: "After the long lay off against Anthony Joshua, I really felt it personally. I felt the rustiness in the ring and that my speed had dropped, and it was so much different compared to sparring back in the real fight once again.

"In the end I was just grateful to get in the rounds and got the job done, that was the most important thing."

Former WBA interim heavyweight champion Ortiz has a pretty impressive record, with 33 wins and just two defeats so far, both of them coming against Deontay Wilder

Like the Cuban, former WBC interim heavyweight champion Whyte also has only two career defeats, with his most recent one being handed by Russia's Alexander Povetkin last December. However, he won his rematch which took place at the Europa Sports Complex in Gibraltar in March.

Facing either would be a pretty tough task for Ruiz, but he will certainly be in high spirits after the win over Arreola, who is no pushover.

Only time will tell if the Mexican will get a chance to fight either of Ortiz or Whyte. Who knows, maybe one day he will be back in the title picture fighting the likes of AJ, Wilder or Tyson Fury.