Andy Ruiz Jr has fired his trainer, Manny Robles, following his defeat to Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on December 7.
The Mexican-American pulled off a shocking upset back in June 2019 when he defeated Anthony Joshua to gain the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles.
But the rematch in Saudi Arabia saw overweight Ruiz Jr schooled for 12 rounds as AJ set the record straight.
The former champion turned up over a stone heavier than he was in the first bout, having partied and gorged himself instead of preparing for the rematch.
And the 30-year-old has responded by parting ways with the man who coached him to world champion status.
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Minimal Contact
Robles had recently said he had minimal contact with ‘The Destroyer’ after the loss, and was clueless as to whether he would continue working with the former champion.
But he received a call recently from Andy Ruiz Sr, telling him that his services would no longer be required.
Speaking about the whole ordeal, Robles told ESPN: “He wasn’t stopping by to say hello or have lunch, that’s for sure,”
“I’ve seen it coming, I’ll be honest with you,”
“I’ve seen it coming during camp.”
“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.”
‘He Wasn’t Listening’
Robles looks back on the build-up to that fateful night in Saudi Arabia, and says it was never going to end well because Ruiz Jr was out of control.
He also expressed his appreciation that the Mexican initially took responsibility for his failure rather than project the blame on his coach.
He continued: “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.”
“He apologized 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.”
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‘Short End of the Stick’
But it seems that some of the blame is now being place on Robles.
He explains it was Al Haymon, who’s promotion Ruiz fights under, that suggested the dismissal to avoid a repeat disaster.
“They apparently told them that they didn’t want the same thing to repeat itself, again,” Robles said.
“It is what it is, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“It’s not the first time it’s happened to me.”
“I’m sure it’s not the first time it’s happened to other coaches.”
“It happens time and time again.”
“We always end up getting the short end of the stick.”
“But it is what it is, you keep moving forward.”
Robles has expressed his gratitude for the experiences and opportunities that 2019 brought him.
“Absolutely, look I’ve got to tell you I’m absolutely grateful and blessed to have been able to experience everything that I was able to experience in 2019,” he said.
“We made history, and I have to be thankful for that.”
“I have to be thankful to Andy and his dad for giving me the opportunity to be part of something special.”
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Coach, Teacher, Friend
But while he’s remained humble about the affair, the trainer did go on to defend himself to some degree, and questions how much more he could have done.
He explained: “I really believed coming into the second fight that we were going to be able to do it again.”
“But obviously you can’t do that if the fighter isn’t there, if the fighter doesn’t want it.”
“I did everything I could as a coach, as a teacher, as a friend, but again, as I said, if the fighter’s not there, what can I do?”
With Ruiz Jr’s camp clearly believing a change in personnel was the required change after his loss, it will be interesting to see what the fleeting world champion can do with a new face in his corner.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Andy Ruiz Jr)