Andy Ruiz Jr. severed ties with coach Manny Robles and Premier Boxing Champions’ boss Al Haymon has been blamed for the separation.
Robles, who guided Ruiz to the unified heavyweight title last June, was dropped just six weeks after the rematch with Anthony Joshua.
Ruiz was unruly in camp, according to Robles and simply didn’t train enough to successfully defend his belts.
Coming in massively overweight, Ruiz was dominated by Joshua in Saudi Arabia. ‘The Destroyer’ couldn’t get close enough to land a telling blow, as in the first fight.
Joshua jabbed and grabbed his way to redemption with the help of a mentor in former opponent Wladimir Klitschko.
The future could now be bleak for Ruiz unless the Mexican can secure a trainer who lays down the law. The 30 year-old had partied for four months after winning millions from the victory over Joshua in New York.
If Ruiz cannot get the fire back, there’s a good chance his career at the top could be over for good.
Explaining the situation, Robles saw he knew something was wrong between the pair.
“I’ve seen it coming, I’ll be honest with you,” Robles told ESPN. “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 and he’s not listening to his dad. He’s not listening to anybody.
“He said it himself after the press conference (after losing to AJ). 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.”
Furthermore, in a significant twist, Robles says Ruiz’s father blamed Al Haymon for the termination on their tenure.
“They (Al Haymon and PBC) apparently told them that they didn’t want the same thing to repeat itself, again,” he 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.”
