Knyba was supposed to provide a credible bridge to something lucrative. If Ruiz Jr. handled the tall Polish heavyweight, Hearn could begin selling another fight with Joshua or offer him to Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic, Daniel Dubois, or Fabio Wardley. Instead, Ruiz Jr. lost a unanimous decision and was dropped heavily in the seventh round.
The official scores also disguised how poorly he performed. One judge had Knyba winning 117-110, while Glenn Feldman and Kevin Morgan returned narrow 114-113 cards. Those two tallies flattered Ruiz Jr., who spent most of the fight struggling to cross the distance behind Knyba
