Trainer Manny Robles repeatedly watches the video of Andy Ruiz Jr.’s upset of Anthony Joshua. But not to celebrate. That party is over. His critical eye is searching for what to do next.
Turns out, there’s plenty, more than enough to make Robles happy at the chances Ruiz can do it all over again on December 7 in Saudi Arabia on DAZN.
“Sitting back and looking at the fight on numerous occasions, I feel like he wasn’t at his best,’’ Robles told iFL TV. “I feel like we had more to do. More work to do mentally and physically. I feel you’ll see a better fighter, mentally and physically, this time around.’’
The key difference is that Ruiz isn’t a late stand-in for the rematch. For the June 1 bout in New York, Ruiz got the call after news of Jarrell Miller’s positive PED test. Ruiz said sure. He took the fight. Then he heard the jokes about his flabby upper body and his chances. He had nothing to lose, so he won it all.
Now he’s in a new role, although he is still the betting underdog, yet by a much smaller margin than the 25-to-1 odds he faced six months ago.
“I think he’s still the same person outside of boxing, but this time around, I think he’s got a bigger responsibility, boxing-wise, knowing he’s a world champion,’’ Robles said. “He’s got that sense of responsibility.
“We talk about that from time-to-time. I tell him, ‘Look, this isn’t just about you anymore. You got a whole country behind you, here and in Mexico.’‘’
Taking the fight to Saudi Arabia was Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn’s decision. In effect, Robles said, it makes Ruiz feel like the challenger, even though he has three of the belts.
“We’d be fighting in America, maybe Las Vegas or Southern California,’’ Robles said. “With that said, we’re coming in as challengers. We understand we’re not the favorites.
“So we’ve got to prove the world wrong, and everyone that does not still believe, we’ve got to make them believe.”