Andy Ruiz has claimed that Anthony Joshua is still mentally suffering from their previous bout, in which the Mexican produced one of boxing's biggest upsets.
Ruiz, who was born in America but fights for Mexico, shocked the heavyweight division in New York in June when he inflicted a first defeat on Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world titles.
Former Olympic champion Joshua was knocked down four times before he was stopped in the seventh round on his US debut, marking one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.
The pair will lock horns in the ring again when they go toe-to-toe in their eagerly-awaited rematch in Saudi Arabia this December.
And although Ruiz has no doubt that Joshua will be desperate to reclaim his three world titles, he reckons his rival is still struggling to accept the shock loss back in June.
Speaking at the press conference in New York on Thursday, he said: "We were exchanging a lot of different words.
"I was telling him that, ‘I know he’s going to be ready. I know he’s hungry, and I was telling him that I’m hungry too. It’s going to be a hell of a fight.’
"Right now, to this day, I feel he’s still a little wrong in the head. He’s like, ‘what the hell is happening?’
"I feel Eddie Hearn is pressuring him to do things that he doesn’t want to do.
"But you know what? This is part of the game. He has a second chance,” said Ruiz.
The Mexican is relishing the opportunity to face Joshua again and believes he has what it takes to inflict a second successive defeat on the British heavyweight.
He added: "I never look for a knockout. If the knockout comes, it comes. The main thing I do is work on doing the things that we do in the gym.
"I feel when you go and look for the knockout, it doesn’t come when you want it. We’re going to be training hard.
"A lot of people are saying I’m not taking it serious just because I bought my family a nice house. This is something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life.
"We’re focused. I’m focused, and I don’t want to give these belts back to him."
