This morning, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador received the new heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz at the National Palace.
Ruiz, who arrived in Mexico City yesterday, was the first boxer of Mexican descent to win a world heavyweight champion title.
Miguel Torruco, head of the National Boxing Commission
, took him to López Obrador’s office personally.
The boxer, who beat former champion Anthony Joshua on June 1, made a comment before meeting the president.
“I am very proud and excited to be here. I wanted to do something big for Mexico,” he stated.
The young athlete had an opportunity to explore the National Palace and see some of the famous murals in its interior.
Once a member of Mexico’s national boxing team and two-time winner of the National Olympics , Ruiz brought the pair of golden gloves with which he beat Joshua by knockout and a replica of his World Boxing Association belt.
In a live press conference this afternoon, Andrés Manuel López Obrador congratulated Ruiz personally for his achievement. “He is our nation’s pride […] An example of perseverance and tenacity,” he said.
Ruiz’s father and his personal trainer also attended the conference.
Tomorrow, Ruiz will visit Mexico’s National Olympics Committee , where he trained for most of his adolescence.
Gilberto Mendoza
, chairman of the World Boxing Association, gave the President a commemorative belt similar to the one Andy Ruiz won after beating Anthony Joshua by knockout.
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