Who is Andy Ruiz Jr.'s boxing trainer? A look into the boxer's controversial coaching changes

Andy Ruiz Jr. made history by defeating British boxing icon Anthony Joshua in June 2019. Ruiz became the first fighter to beat and knockout 'AJ' in the professional boxing realm. The victory earned him Joshua's WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight championships.

He thereby became boxing's first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent and the second Latino to win a heavyweight world title in boxing, with the first being John Ruiz, who's an American of Puerto Rican descent.

Andy Ruiz Jr.'s newfound stardom came with mainstream appearances on U.S.-based talk shows and a lot more time under the spotlight. Nevertheless, Ruiz soon faced a major setback, as Joshua reclaimed the titles by beating him via unanimous decision in their rematch in Dec. 2019. The Mexican-American has competed just twice since, under different trainers each time.

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Who is Andy Ruiz Jr.'s trainer?

Long supported by his father, Andy Ruiz Sr., Andy Ruiz Jr. has been boxing since the age of six. As an amateur, Ruiz Jr. primarily trained under Fernando Ferrer, a Cuban boxing trainer.

After transitioning to professional boxing, Ruiz trained for three years under Freddie Roach, a legendary American boxing trainer who owns the Wild Card Boxing gym in Los Angeles, California. 'Destroyer' also trained under revered Mexican-American boxing trainer, Abel Sanchez (Gennady Golovkin's ex-trainer).

Sanchez coached Ruiz in his razor-thin majority decision defeat against Joseph Parker in their WBO heavyweight championship fight in Dec. 2016.

Furthermore, Andy Ruiz Jr. extensively trained under California-based boxing trainer Manny Robles, who guided him to world championship glory. Robles coached Ruiz when he beat Anthony Joshua in June 2019. He also coached him for the Joshua rematch, which ended up being a one-sided loss for Ruiz.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Robles suggested that the newfound fame and glory that came after his win over Joshua overwhelmed his student and adversely affected him in the rematch.

Robles recalled that Ruiz apologized to him after the rematch and acknowledged that he'd partied too hard and come in "overweight." He explained that Ruiz wasn't training hard enough, which is what cost him. Noting that he wasn't sure if Ruiz would still continue training with him, Robles stated:

"He [Ruiz] wasn't prepared for this type of success, fame or money so it could be overwhelming."

Andy Ruiz Jr. split with Manny Robles in the ensuing months and started training with Mexican boxing megastar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez's trainer Eddy Reynoso in 2020. Intriguingly, speaking to Sky Sports, Ruiz's former trainer Abel Sanchez stated that the heavyweight boxer "lacks in desire," needs to train harder and listen to Reynoso.

Ruiz competed in just one match under Reynoso, facing veteran fighter Chris Arreola in May 2021. 'Destroyer' was knocked down early in that fight but rallied to secure a unanimous decision victory against Arreola. In 2022, he parted ways with Reynoso.

In a Fight Hype interview, Reynoso stated that Ruiz was free to train wherever he wanted to. Similarly, speaking to Fight Hype, Ruiz asserted that he respects every trainer he's learned from. Besides, he explained that Reynoso wouldn't be in his camp for his fight against Luis Ortiz, but did not rule out a future collaboration with him.

The same year, Ruiz opened his own gym in San Diego, California, and started training under Mexico's Alfredo Osuna. Intriguingly, Osuna previously helped Ruiz with mitt work before the Joshua rematch.

The Mexican-American fighter has competed just once under Osuna's guidance, beating Luis Ortiz via unanimous decision in Sept. 2022. Ruiz is still coached by Osuna and is currently scheduled to fight Jarrell Miller on the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov card on Aug. 3, 2024.