Andy Ruiz Jr has admitted he ‘ate everything’ prior to his rematch with Anthony Joshua where he relinquished his world heavyweight titles.
On Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, the ‘Destroyer’ tried desperately to carry his 20 stone frame around the ring as he put his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line.
But, unlike in New York six months ago, Ruiz could not effectively close the distance as a far more streamlined Joshua put in a pugilistic master class to cruise to a unanimous points victory.
Although he vowed not to make any excuses in his post-fight press conference, the 30-year-old admitted he partied too much and did not train as hard as he could have, with his own trainer criticising his lack of commitment as world heavyweight champion.
Upon returning to his native California, Ruiz went one step further in his explanations for his weight gain and poor performance.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Ruiz admitted: “I think I ate everything... EVERYTHING... that's why I gained so much weight.
“I was having too much fun, I was celebrating too much.
“Even out of shape, even the way that I was training back and forth (between Mexico and California) ... f******, I did pretty good, dude! I did pretty good!
“But, I wish I had taken it more serious.”
Ruiz is keen on a third fight and insists he will train properly if he is given another shot at Joshua.
He added: “For the third fight, I'm going to give it all I got! I want those belts back!”
In hindsight, the partying and lack of professionalism is all the more evident, with Ruiz Jr’s 30th birthday party a damning indication of the former world champion’s downfall.
Featuring naked sushi girls, waitresses in lingerie and a host of A-list celebrities, the first heavyweight champion of the world of Mexican origin clearly allowed his newfound fame and fortune to get to his head.
Of course, there is no shame in this. The aim of prize fighting is of course to get in, get out and make as much money as possible. And in June, the proud family man told E News just how he spent his seven-figure pay day earned from his first fight.
“First of all I bought a car for my mum,” he said. “That was the first purchase that I made with the money that I got.
“I bought my mum a car because I messed up a lot of her cars when I was young. So I got her a brand new car.”
Despite the scores being tied at 1-1 between the pair, it seems unlikely Matchroom Boxing will come calling for a trilogy fight any time soon.
Joshua has admitted he is keen to pursue fights with the likes of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury and showed little sympathy for his fallen foe.
“I would love to have trained the way Andy trained but in reality that's not the way of a champion,” he told Good Morning Britain.
“Andy can say all of these things but he knew he had a fight and he knew the best way to prepare.
“Learning life lessons come in different forms, his was in the form of a loss. He knew his mistakes.”
