Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz has axed his trainer, after his unanimous-decision loss to Anthiony Joshua in December.
But Manny Robles, the man who guided Ruiz to a shock win over Joshua last June, has hit back at the Mexican-American, claiming he was out of control in the lead-up to his title defence in Saudi Arabia.
Ruiz was outmatched by the hard-hitting Brit, but turned up in horrible shape for the rematch, weighing 128kg, seven more than when he won in New York.
Robles told ESPN he could see the loss coming in the weeks before the fight, noting his charge had lost motivation to train.
"I saw it coming, Andy was just doing whatever the hell he wanted to do.
"The dad, obviously with him being the manager, 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, he's not listening to his dad, he's not listening to anybody.
"He said it himself after the press conference [in Saudi Arabia]. He apologised 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."
Ruiz's American promoter, Al Haymon, made the call to Robles earlier this month to officially cut ties between fighter and trainer.
Speculation suggests Ruiz may link up with renowned boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, who has mentored the likes of former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer and perennial heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin.
Meanwhile, Ruiz is on the campaign trail to get back in the heavyweight mix, targeting Kiwi Joseph Parker among others.
Back in 2016, Parker became the only other fighter to beat Ruiz, claiming the then-vacant WBO heavyweight title.
Ruiz told Dank City that he had options, including the winner of the upcoming Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder rematch.
"There's a lot out there... Tyson Fury, there's Deontay Wilder, there's Dillian Whyte or Joseph Parker.
"I'll fight anybody, but probably Wilder or Fury fits best - one of the tall guys."
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