Andy Ruiz Jr will end up flat on his back from brutal Deontay Wilder KO if pair fight, says his ex-trainer Abel Sanchez

DEONTAY WILDER will leave Andy Ruiz Jr 'flat on his back' if the pair were to fight, the Mexican's former trainer has warned.

Abel Sanchez outlined how Anthony Joshua's old nemesis cannot expect the 'easy' night that the Brit gave him, should he face an elite fighter again.

Ruiz Jr, 31, dramatically downed AJ in New York two years ago before piling on the pounds and losing the rematch.

It has been rumoured that he will step in to face Wilder, 35, after Tyson Fury's positive coronavirus test delayed their WBC bout.

But Sanchez, who trained the ex-champ for a number of years, foresees only one outcome if the fight goes ahead.

He told FightHub: "He doesn’t want to fight Wilder.

"He’ll be flat on his back and will be hurt. Tyson Fury is a special talent. Andy Ruiz is not yet.

"Wilder can do the same thing [Chris] Arreola did [dropping Ruiz], but it would be ten times harder, and he’ll be sleeping."

Ruiz Jr has already distanced himself from fighting Wilder having only fought once once in 18 months.

A points victory over Chris Arreola in May marked his ring return after the Joshua match-ups, although he was knocked down in the second round.

Eddie Reynoso is now training the heavyweight and Sanchez stated his hope that the coach can steer Ruiz Jr in the right direction outside the gym as well as inside.

The 72-year-old noted: "I hope he’s going to continue the discipline with Eddy.

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"If Eddy can get it out of him, I think he’ll make him a better fighter. Right now, he’s still marginal.

"In today’s boxing, and in athletics, whether it’s football, baseball or boxing, you can’t train for two months, and then take two months off and go party, get fat and go back and do it again.

"That’s been his MO, and that just cannot be. He’s got to get right back in the gym, just like Canelo does. Every time you see Canelo fight, he’s right back in the gym the next week.

"That’s the modern athlete - that’s what the athlete has to do. If Andy chooses not to do that, then it’s going to be the same Andy all the time.

"No improvement, no further development. He’s not that hard to hit, and he wasn’t hard to hit in my gym.

"He’s got fast hands and great skills. Those two things are not going to make you a world champion again.

"He caught Joshua on an off night, and he had the best night that he could ever have, and he became champion. I hope that he doesn’t expect it to be that easy again."

Ruiz Jr has been tipped to step in for Oleksandr Usyk and face Joshua for a third time, should the Ukrainian challenger have to drop out of their September showdown.

Otto Wallin promoter Dmitriy Salita has called for a fight and a bout with Dillian Whyte could also be on the cards.

Salita told Sky Sports: "Otto and Andy gave the toughest challenge to two of the current world heavyweight champions.

"It makes sense for them to fight, especially if Tyson Fury fights Anthony Joshua."