By Charles Brun: Andy Ruiz Jr. trainer Manny Robles is predicting an improved Anthony Joshua will be inside the ring on Saturday, fighting better than he did last June, but he says it’s not going to be enough. Ruiz Jr. (33-1, 22 KOs) will have his hand raised at the end of the night, be it by decision or knockout.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
It’s going to be difficult for there to be a different outcome in this fight if Joshua can’t handle the fast pace that Ruiz will be forcing on him. Joshua has the stamina of a George Foreman, and he’s not able to fight hard without tiring. Ruiz is the opposite. He can fight hard without gassing, and he can take a punch.
It’s important for Joshua to try and keep the pace as slow as possible for him to win, and Ruiz has already said many times recently that he’s not going to do that for him Ruiz isn’t going to handicap himself in order to give Joshua a chance to win.
Robles doubts Joshua will be improved much
“I don’t know. We’ll see on Saturday if it creates a difference or not,” said Ruiz’s trainer Manny Robles when told that Joshua has added Angel Fernandez for this camp. “It takes time to work with a fighter I don’t think anything happens.
“Things don’t change overnight. It’s a process that you normally don’t see right away. So we shall see what they have in store for us on Saturday. We’ve had a pretty good game plan, and we made some changes ourselves.
“Obviously the team is still the same, but we had time on our hands this time. We had 12 weeks to prepare, so I like our chances. I liked how we prepared, and I like the way and I like our game plan. The most important thing is chemistry,” said Robles in talking about Ruiz.
Joshua’s new assistant trainer Angel Fernandez has obviously worked on a few things to help him, but these are areas that his longtime trainer Rob McCracken has already covered. McCracken isn’t a novice trainer. He’s likely tried to improve every facet of Joshua’s game in the past, and found out that he’s not capable of improving in some areas.
These four areas are likely beyond improving with Joshua:
- Stamina
- Punch resistance
- Mobility
- Head movement
Ruiz will come out on top – Robles
“We have a great game plan in store. You never stop learning in this game, so I believe he’s got a lot more to give,” said Robles. “I like where we’re at now, but I believe we’ll be in a much better place tomorrow. Do you think he quit?” said Robles about Joshua. “So why take more punishment? I think he decided in his mind not to go on. He’s a warrior.
“It’s the referee that has the final call and final say so. You’ve got to respect the referee’s decision. I didn’t see him argue with his decision. This is boxing. This is what fighters sign up for. Obviously, we’re going to come out on top, whether by decision or by knockout. We’re ready for anything and everything. I have faith in my boxer, and I believe we’re going to come out on top,” said Robles.
Not much has been said about which fighter has had the better sparring partners, but you can argue that Ruiz easily has had the best in Michael Hunter. He’s a top five heavyweight.
Joshua has been sparring a lot of short, chubby heavyweights in an effort to duplicate the size of Ruiz. Those guys are not elite heavyweights like Hunter. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many elite heavyweights with the type of physique that Andy Ruiz Jr. has.
For Ruiz to win, he’s going to have to walk through a lot of hard shots in another frantic round like he had in the 3rd last June for him to beat Joshua. The guys that give Joshua a lot of problems are fighters that wear him out in fast paced rounds. Joshua gassed in round 3 against Ruiz, 6 against Wladimir Klitschko and round 2 in his fight with Dillian Whyte.
Andy’s weight will be around the same as first Joshua fight
“If it isn’t broke, why change it, right?” said Robles when asked if Ruiz is about the same weight as the previous fight with Joshua. “Our weight is going to be kind of like where we were for the last fight. We like where we’re at. Obviously, Andy likes the way he feels at that particular weight, and that’s what we feel he’s at his best.
“So that’s what we’re going to do. He’s been training hard for this fight, and We’re going to live up to the task at hand. Wer’re going to hope for the best on Saturday. We’re working to win, but we understand Joshua is doing the same thing. We believe it’s going to be a great fight, but at the same time we also believe we’re going to come out on top.
“Incredible, and also Michael Hunter is one of the best heavyweights in the world,” said Robles in taking about Ruiz being able to spar with Hunter. “We were extremely fortunate to have him in camp, and to have him for sparring, it was very good. I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff,” said Robles about the rumors that Joshua had a panic attack last time, and that he’d been hurt in sparring,” said Robles.
It’s interesting how Ruiz’s weight has gone up and down seemingly during training camp for this fight. He started the training camp looking like he was in the 290s, and he’s lost a lot of weight to get back down to near the 268 lbs that he weighed for the previous Joshua fight.
Ruiz prepared to beat Joshua again
“I believe he’s one of the best heavyweights in the world,” said Robles about Joshua. “It’s nice to know that Andy is one of the best heavyweights in the world after defeating Anthony Joshua. We’re prepared to do the same thing again. People can make up a million different excuses, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to step into that ring.
“You gotta be you, and you’ve got to be able to perform under the big lights. Nothing but respect for Joshua, and we’re here to win again. Absolutely, we’ve got to be ready for everything. You’ve got to have a Plan-A and a Plan-B. I believe he’ll be a better fighter this time around, and better prepared mentally and physically. That’s why we trained hard, because we got to come in great shape, and we got to be better than we were the first time,” said Robles.
Robles wasn’t too impressed with the excuses that Joshua, his promoter Eddie Hearn, and his fans came up with to explain away the defeat last June. There’s been too many excuses by Joshua and Hearn especially with them blaming on not being dialed in properly, and calling it a “lucky punch from the Gods.”
It suggests that Joshua and Hearn have a hard time owning the defeat, and realizing that boxing is a game of chance sometimes. It’s almost to guarantee a win every time out no matter who you face. Joshua found out the hard way that it only takes one punch, and that’s it.