Trainer Joseph Awinongya RCM Interview: Ruiz Weight Loss Nonfactor, Will KO Joshua Again

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

*Photo Credit: Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media

 World Heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr., formerly at 268 pounds, has now lost more than ten pounds from his short 6’2″ frame. His recently posted Instagram photo is making waves, but is also raising questions. The question arises as to whether the weight loss will improve or hinder his chances in his rematch with Anthony Joshua at the new 15 thousand seats Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on December 7, 2019, in defense of his WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO world heavyweight titles.

Ruiz, 33-1 with 22 knockouts, Imperial, California, will find out whether or not Anthony Joshua, 22-1 with 21 knockouts, Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, will bring wither the same or a different game plan to the table. Ruiz, a late substitute for the medically disqualified Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, came off the canvas to drop Joshua three times and stop him in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden on June 1, 2019.

Noted Chicago boxing trainer Joseph Awinongya, a onetime cruiserweight from Ghana whose professional 12-9-5 record included a close decision loss to future world champion Steve Cunningham, and who trained Adama Osamanu into two world middleweight title bouts, thinks the weight loss by Andy Ruiz Jr. will actually improve his chances against Anthony Joshua. Not all experts agree. In this exclusive interview from Chicago with Real Combat Media, Awinongya breaks down the weight loss, and the pros and cons factoring in for both Ruiz and Joshua in their upcoming rematch.

Robert B: “Will Andy Ruiz Jr. be better or worse boxing at as lower weight than before?”

Joseph  A: ” (He is) gonna be better.

Robert B: “Why?”

Joseph A: “Andy is going to be more quicker. He is gonna beat him (Joshua) again.”

Robert B: “Isn’t his (Andy’s) weight his strength?”

Joseph A: “No, I don’t think so. Andy’s strength is he has doing boxing since he was young. He throws a lot of punches. It doesn’t matter what weight he is at. You have to know what you are doing with him in order to beat him. He’s gonna win the same way again. I like both of the fighters. I (personally) like Anthony Joshua better, but there’s no doubt he Andy Ruiz is gonna win (again).”




Robert B: “What could Joshua do to have a better chance?”

Joseph A: “Anthony Joshua has to learn how to fight inside before he can have a better chance. He cannot keep Andy away from him. If he stays outside, Andy is gonna jump on him, and the same thing is gonna happen again (Joshua will get stopped or knocked out again). People like Ruiz, you have to learn how to fight him.”

Robert B: “How do you fight Andy and beat him? Joseph Parker beat him over 12 rounds. How did Parker do it? How did Parker box Ruiz better than Joshua? Your opinion?”

Joseph A: “Parker got a hometown decision in New Zealand. I think Andy won that fight. Parker does fight in a much different style than Joshua, a style which works far more effectively against a fighter like Andy Ruiz. Because Parker kept turning Andy around all day long. Joshua can’t do that. Parker fights that way. He likes to move. For Joshua to go back and learn all that, he’s gonna lose the fight earlier. If I am training Joshua, I’m training him to stand tall and stay inside for six rounds, before I start boxing (even try to box Andy on the inside).”

Robert B: “What do you think Anthony Joshua’s people will do in training him for the rematch which will be completely different (than before)?”

Joseph A: “They have to train Joshua to stay tall and make Andy Ruiz bend and suffer, and box inside, so when you hit Andy he feels it and says this guy hit me. Stand tall, catch all the punches, and stay inside and keep on turning Andy around inside, go to the body and move. Stand this way shoot left uppercuts, right uppercuts, work to the body and move. The moment you start boxing Andy will get you. You cannot box him. You are gonna get tired (after Andy’s style breaks you down).”

Robert B: “In the first bout, Joshua had Ruiz down early. How did that happen?”

Joseph A: “Joshua caught Ruiz (on the) inside, and exchanged punches with him. Andy did not expect Joshua to stay (on the) inside with him. He thought Joshua would stay (on the) outside and box him. What Joshua did (right) in the first fight (when he knocked Andy down), he has to do again and stay tall. Andre Ward and Floyd Mayweather Jr. know how to stand tall and box on the inside. They do these things because they know boxing. I don’t think Joshua has that talent. If he stays inside and throws left and right hooks, Joshua will still (have to) stand up.”

Robert B: “Joshua is still a thinking fighter. He must know the reasons why he underestimated Andy Ruiz. What do you think Joshua thinks he must do differently to win the rematch? Anthony Joshua is not stupid.”

Joseph A: “Anthony is going to stay a safe distance from Andy, stay away from him, throw the jab, and throw the right when he comes in. You cannot do that with Andy Ruiz. You (are) gonna run and (eventually)get tired. Andy Ruiz has been fighting this way for a long time.”

Robert B: “You mean Ruiz knows he has to get inside like Rocky Marciano?”

Joseph A: “Yes. That’s his (Andy’s) game plan. He’s a short dude. He knows he has to get inside. Joshua has to be right there with him inside standing close to him. If Joshua boxes him (Ruiz, from the outside) Ruiz is gonna beat him easy.”

Robert B: “Ruiz has more skill than Joshua. Let’s say Joshua recognizes Ruiz is more skilled than he is at this point. He would need the right type of sparring partners to enable him to adjust his game plan, stand up and fight on the inside. Do you think he now has the right type of sparring partners to change his game plan? Your thoughts.”




Joseph A: “I don’t know who Joshua’s sparring partners are for the Ruiz rematch. He has to find sparring partners who throw a lot of punches, and he has to stay inside with them, stand up, and trade punches nonstop. You have to a good teacher to teach somebody like that. You have to know boxing inside and out. His coach has to watch Ruiz’ fights, and study Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fights, and see how they do things. If not, they are gonna have a problem. You see how Floyd Mayweather can stay on the ropes, catch punches and counters you? Because Floyd Mayweather know if this guy lands all night throwing punches this guy is gonna beat him. He has to come up with ways to make the guy miss. Floyd Mayweather is good with that.”

Robert B: “If Joshua fights the same way, how many rounds will he last?”

Joseph A: “After four rounds, Anthony Joshua is gonna get tired. He never had nobody (a real opponent) who throws punches (on the inside) and makes him miss.

Robert B: “Joshua was cleared winded and out of gas at the time Ruiz finished him in the first bout. Why?”

Joseph A: “Joshua was winded because he tried to box Andy, and he got tired. Joshua didn’t train to moving around and jabbing all day and all night long, so he cannot do that (make adjustments in style) for this (rematch) fight.”

Robert B: “Suppose Anthony Joshua’s coaches did train him to stand up and move and fight on the inside in this fight, and keep on turning Ruiz around. What would Andy do to counter Joshua’s game plan adjustment?”

Joseph A: “I don’t think Andy expects that. He doesn’t expect that. Andy expects this guy (Joshua) to (just) move around and jab him (again).”

Robert B: “So, if Joshua succeeds in taking Ruiz out of his fight style and game plan, you are saying Andy would not have a plan B.”

Joseph A: “I don’t think so. That’s it (that would be it) for him.” That’s the way he fights. He stands close and throws a lot of punches. He’s a short guy. He cannot go out and box Joshua, He can’t box Joshua (he is not tall enough to fight that kind of fight).”

Robert B: “In the first bout, Joshua, underestimating Ruiz in the same way the late Floyd Patterson underestimated the late Sonny Liston in their 1962 and 1963 bouts,  just stood in front of Andy and tried boxing from a distance. When Andy came inside, Joshua did not know what do, and seemed to be sleepwalking. Is this analogy correct?”

Joseph A: “Yes. Joshua didn’t know what to do because Andy Ruiz’ hands were too much (speed and power).”

Robert B: “Your prediction is the Andy Ruiz Jr. versus Anthony Joshua rematch?”

Joseph A: “Andy Ruiz will win by knockout again, maybe by the seventh and eighth round.”

Robert B: “If Anthony Joshua stands tall, fights Andy Ruiz, on the inside, and successfully turns him consistently, can he outpoint Andy over 12 rounds like Joseph Parker?”

Joseph A: “Yeah he can do that, but he has to keep on turning Andy around on the inside. Do that for four rounds, and after that he will beat him easy, because no one every done that to him before. Nobody every took the energy out of him, frustrate him. His energy will drop down. After four rounds (of getting turned), Andy will run out of gas. Andy will feel comfortable (initially), but after two rounds of throwing punches but getting turned on the inside, Andy’s gonna get tired because he’s gonna throw too many punches. Andy and his team in the corner will be expecting Joshua to move a lot and jab. You take that away, because they don’t expect a different game plan from Joshua, and Joshua will win. Personally, I don’t think he (Anthony Joshua) can do that. Joshua might try it. You don’t need all that sparring to do that. You need a special trainer to show you how to do that. If he goes there (to Saudi Arabia,) and tries to box Andy Ruiz (like he did before), Anthony is gonna get knocked out again. Andy’s weight loss doesn’t have anything to do with it (Andy’s ability or the fight’s outcome). Andy’s gonna fight Anthony Joshua the same way. He’s going to be fighting better (faster and more accurate) after losing the weight. The secret to beating Andy Ruiz is to turn him around, stay on the ropes (at times), make him throw and counter (make him think Joshua’s doing what I want, but I cannot touch him).”




Robert B: “Could a bad cut affect the outcome or the game plan in the rematch?”

Joseph A: “No! You think the late Arturo Gatti, may he rest in peace, thought about a cut (during his fights)? The fighters (Joshua and Ruiz) will fight in the same way (regardless).”

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