By Dan Ambrose: Andy Ruiz Jr’s ex-trainer Manny Robles is still pretty bitter about being let go by him following Andy’s loss to Anthony Joshua last December in Saudi Arabia. Robles reasons that Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) is just a “ghetto kid” that never had anything in his life until he beat IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua to last June to become an overnight success story.
The pressures from the sudden fame and fortune sent Ruiz Jr. crashing down to defeat just six months after his huge upset 7th round knockout win over Joshua. Ruiz failed to train adequately for the fight, and come into a fat 283 lbs, which made it easy for Joshua to use movement to outbox him. Robles is upset because he believes Ruiz could have won that fight had he trained
Ruiz is supposed to be returning to the ring this summer against a still to be determined opponent. He’s been steadily posting on Instagram, talking about his comeback. He’s taking weight, and want’s to reclaim his lost titles from Joshua.
Ruiz’s next fight is rumored to be against 38-year-old Chris Arreola. As bad as Ruiz fought against Joshua, even Arreola might beat him at this point. Arreola is capable of throwing a lot of punches, but he could beat Ruiz just by outworking him.
Ruiz was overwhelmed by the success
“I never got a phone call from Andy Ruiz, to begin with. He never talked to me. It was the father that approached me, and the father that came to the gym to talk to me about the separation,” said Robles to IFL TV on Ruiz Jr. “I haven’t heard from Andy since the fight in Saudi Arabia.
“Obviously I was disappointed, but you never lose faith. Me as an individual, a person and as a coach, I try to hang in there the best that I could, and not lose faith in my fighter and hope that he would wake up one day and realize the importance and the responsibility that he had not only to himself but for all of the fans and the people in boxing.
“You’ve got to understand he’s a ghetto boy,” said Robles of Andy Ruiz. “He’s a ghetto kid that never had anything in life, and all of a sudden you wake up and you’re the champion of the world and have millions of dollars in the bank. You’re getting ready to make more millions. It’s overwhelming. The situation became so overwhelming for him,” said Robles of Ruiz Jr.
It is disappointing that Ruiz Jr. chose to part ways with Robles after losing to Joshua last December. Only Ruiz knows why he had his father be the bearer of bad news to Robles instead of talking to him on his own. Ruiz still hasn’t found a new trainer yet to replace Robles.
There had been talk of Ruiz possibly having Teddy Atlas replace Robles, but the two never met. With Atlas’ no-nonsense approach to training, it might be a bad fit for Andy. If he wants to slack off, Atlas wouldn’t go along with that.
Robles confident Ruiz can beat Luis Ortiz
“He made a lot of new friends that weren’t around when he had nothing, and unfortunately, people change with money,” said Robles of Ruiz Jr. being changed by the millions he made after beating Joshua. “I think money and fame. Money changes people. I can’t say all but it definitely does, and it changed him. Unfortunately, it changed him for the worse.
“It’s hard to wake up in the morning with silk sheets, and have to get up in the morning and go run and go to work,” Robles continued on what went wrong with Ruiz. “But you wake up that way knowing you have all that money in the bank and whatever. As I said, it was much greater than that, and I tried to convince him.
“‘Look, you have a huge responsibility. If money drives you, go out there and make more. Let’s go beat this guy [Anthony Joshua] again.’ I did everything on my end, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Great fight. Andy can win that fight, but he’s just got to show up,” said Robles when asked about his thoughts on Ruiz potentially facing Luis Ortiz in the future,” said Robles on Ruiz.
The Ortiz that we saw in his two fights against Deontay Wilder would beat Ruiz, and maybe even stop him. If those guys fight right now, it could end badly, as Ortiz would come into the fight in shape, and ready to take Ruiz’s head off.