Kingdom Kutz MediaTestimony
Andy Ruiz Jr. Says the Old Him Died. Then He Got Baptized With His Son.
The former heavyweight champion who once felt empty inside a title belt has gone public with his faith, and he brought his son into the water with him.
Andy Ruiz Jr. carried a heavyweight title and an empty chest at the same time, and for a while the belt won. Last week the former world champion stood in the water at Heart Revolution Church and told the crowd he was done carrying the old version of himself.
A Champion Who Felt Empty Inside a Title Belt
In 2019, Ruiz Jr. shocked the boxing world by knocking out Anthony Joshua to take the unified heavyweight titles, then lost every one of them back to Joshua in the rematch seven months later. The loss gutted him. He stopped training with any real discipline, gained weight, and told Movieguide he felt empty inside during that stretch, even with a championship run already behind his name. A belt could not fix what was actually broken.
Ruiz Jr. has talked openly about praying through that season, telling God directly: "I'm sorry for not doing the right things. I'm sorry for not following your orders." By 2021, heading into a comeback fight against Chris Arreola, something in him had genuinely shifted. He described that training camp as the moment "the old Andy died," and after the win he credited God publicly instead of himself.
Why Hitting Bottom Comes Before Turning Around
Ruiz Jr.'s story follows a pattern Scripture describes over and over: the breaking point comes before the turning point, not after it. Kingdom Kutz Media dug into that exact question in The Real Reason Why God Allows Suffering, which argues that the pain people most want removed is often the very thing God uses to get their attention in the first place. Ruiz Jr.'s own account, a title-winning boxer who says he felt hollow at the top of his sport, fits that pattern almost exactly.
A Baptism With His Son
Photo: NotimexTV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The baptism itself, conducted by Pastor T.J. at Heart Revolution Church, was a family moment as much as a spiritual one. Ruiz Jr. brought his son into the water with him. "I'm just taking a big step into this newborn and washing down all my sins away and becoming something new and something great and something that my kids get to get to see," he said, according to Charisma Magazine. He added that he could not wait for the new chapter ahead, for him and for his family watching.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
That verse is the whole shape of Ruiz Jr.'s story in one line. A man who once measured himself by a belt and a scoreboard says he found something sturdier than either, and he wanted his son standing next to him when he said so out loud.
Key Takeaways
- Andy Ruiz Jr., the 2019 heavyweight champion, was baptized with his son at Heart Revolution Church.
- Ruiz Jr. says he felt empty during the depression that followed his title loss to Anthony Joshua.
- He credits a 2021 comeback camp before beating Chris Arreola as the moment his faith became real to him.
- Pastor T.J. conducted the baptism, which Ruiz Jr. described as washing away his old life for good.
- His story echoes a pattern Kingdom Kutz Media covers in its video on why God allows suffering.
🙏 Pray With Us
Lord, keep Andy Ruiz Jr. and his son standing firm in this new commitment long after the cameras stop rolling. Surround them with a church family that will hold them accountable, and let this public step give someone else watching the courage to make the same one.
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