By: Thomas Nicholls
Mexico’s Heavyweight star Andy Ruiz Jr has had a lot of time to stew over his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it chapter at the top of the Heavyweight pile.
His win over Anthony Joshua back in June 2019 took us all by surprise, yet his reign at the pinnacle of the heavies ended abruptly with a shutout defeat to AJ in the Saudi rematch.
Fundamentally, he is a tough task for just about any of the current top crop, but his infrequent training sessions and pizza parties ahead of the Joshua rematch have left a sour taste.
So, the man who Ruiz embraced in euphoria back at the MSG, Manny Robles, has been sent packing as Ruiz bids to revitalise his career. An understandably upset Robles told SkySports: “My job is not to call him every day. He is a man, not a kid, and must be treated as such.
“You can’t convince someone to want something.
“The fame and money has been overwhelming for Andy. He has got to know how to handle it. Maybe after this defeat, the game has humbled him.
“Stay humble or be humbled.
“The first three months after beating Joshua on June 1, I had very little communication with him.
“I was in the gym but he was at home, doing his own thing. I wasn’t able to see him or really talk to him.
“I was disappointed by everything leading up to the result [of the rematch]. The preparation. Fights are won in the gym and, when you don’t go into a fight at 100 per cent this is what you get.”
Inbound is Eddy Reynoso, the man who leads P4P star, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Reynoso’s gym is simply star studded. Canelo, of course, the poster-boy and within the team are native Mexicans, Luis Nery, Julio Cesar Martinez and Oscar Valdez. Not bad company at all.
Frankly, now is the time for Ruiz to park the fleet of cars that James Bond would envy, refrain from uploading photoshopped torso shots on Instagram and revert his focus to what sealed that famous coronation in New York.
Sat on the precipice, if he is unable to rediscover the heart and focus to get back on the path to glory, he could join the dreaded company of some of Boxing’s bizarre Heavyweight reigns.
However, with Reynoso’s input, discipline and dedication, then all of a sudden the heavyweight division will have it’s dangerous underdog back. Ruiz Jr can be a match for anyone.