Trainer claims Andy Ruiz was ‘out of control’ before Anthony Joshua fight
Andy Ruiz became a big, fat joke after getting thumped by Anthony Joshua and his former trainer has revealed just what went wrong.
Boxing/MMA
Don't miss out on the headlines from Boxing/MMA. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Andy Ruiz Jr has split from trainer Manuel Robles, who claimed the boxer was “out of control” during camp for his heavyweight rematch with Anthony Joshua last month.
Under Robles’ guidance, Ruiz pulled off a remarkable victory over Joshua last June before getting schooled in the rematch when he turned up looking grossly out of shape, The Sun reports.
He tipped the scales at a whopping 128kg for the bout in Saudi Arabia, making him the second heaviest boxer to fight for a world heavyweight title. He was also 7kg heavier than he was for his upset win over Joshua in their first encounter.
Joshua reclaimed the WBA, IBF and WBO belts in Saudi Arabia in December but Robles thinks that was always going to happen given Ruiz’s attitude.
Speaking to ESPN, Robles said: “I’ve seen it coming, I’ll be honest with you.
“I’ve seen it coming during camp.
“I saw it coming, Andy was just doing whatever the hell he wanted to do.
“The dad — obviously with him being the manager — he just had no control over his son. None of us had control of him, for that matter.
“So I just saw it coming, it wasn’t going to work because he wasn’t listening.
“He’s not listening to me, he’s not listening to his dad, he’s not listening to anybody.
“He said it himself after the press conference (in Saudi Arabia). He apologised to me, to the dad, because he f***ed up.
“So I figured, ‘OK, it’s only a matter of time before I get the call’.
“Fortunately for me, Andy took the blame on himself and didn’t sit there like a majority of fighters and blame the coach.”
After the fight Ruiz, 30, admitted “three months of partying” was behind the one-sided defeat and also confessed he “ate everything” as he lamented his poor preparation.
“Three months of partying and celebrating affected me, what can I say?” Ruiz said.
“Being overweight, I wasn’t fluid enough, I wasn’t moving the way I wanted to move.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Trainer claims Andy Ruiz was ‘out of control’ before Anthony Joshua fight