Former world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz believes he has been reinvented by trainer Eddy Reynoso and the fruits of their labours will be starkly apparent in his comeback fight against fellow Mexican-American Chris Arreola at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on May 1.
After shocking the boxing world with a magnificent seven-round win over Anthony Joshua in New York in June 2019, Ruiz’s dedication waned and he forfeited his WBA Super, WBO and IBF heavyweight crowns against the Briton in their Saudi Arabia return six months later.
A period of career reassessment and soul-searching followed with Ruiz eventually leaving coach Manny Robles to link up with the celebrated Reynoso and his elite team of fighters including Canelo Alvarez, Oscar Valdez and Ryan Garcia. Ruiz has since shed significant weight and rediscovered his hunger for the fight game.
“Working with Eddy has helped change my mentality. His mentality is that we can’t take anything for granted in this sport. We’ve been working on a lot of different things and I have the ability to do a lot of new things with Eddy. I can’t wait to show everyone the new Andy Ruiz Jr. on May 1 because I’m more motivated right now than I ever have been before,” said Ruiz.
“Eddy sees the potential that I have and he told me that I needed to be disciplined if I was going to work with him. I don’t think I’ve ever been truly 100 percent dedicated until now. I’m surrounded by great champions like Canelo Alvarez, Oscar Valdez and Ryan Garcia, who help motivate me and it’s a blessing to be learning from Eddy every single day.
“I learned a lot from every trainer that I’ve had and I’m grateful for all of them. With Eddy, he likes to perfect every single punch and every movement in the ring. That level of detail is something that I’ve never had on this level.
“Losing my last fight [against Joshua] was devastating. I didn’t do the things that I was supposed to do. That was the most important fight of my career. I had been waiting to become champion my whole life and I started doing things I never thought I would be able to do. I don’t want to make those same mistakes again, and that’s a big part of what’s motivating me.
“Now that I’ve been dropping weight the right way, I feel amazing. I feel like I can do a lot more things that I couldn’t do before because of my body. The sky is the limit for me.”