Unable to attend yesterday's press conference in Manchester, heavyweight contender John Ruiz later made his presence known via video-link, in an interview screened live by Sky Sports News.
The former two-time WBA world heavyweight champion responded to David Haye's 'boring' and 'insomnia' jibes and also had some put-downs of his own for 'The Hayemaker'. First, though, Ruiz was quick to apologise for his no-show at the Manchester press conference.
"It was a long trip and I need to focus on training," said the 38-year-old challenger. "I apologise for not being there.
"This is an important fight for my career. I've been to England six times already and things worked out good for me. I'm looking forward to going back. I hope all the Latinos out there will come and cheer me on."
In a 54-bout career, Ruiz has previously boxed in England on six occasions. He beat both Julius Francis and Michael Murray on UK shores in the mid-1990s.
"I fought some great matches over there and fought some good guys," recalled Ruiz. "I feel blessed that I was able to fight over in England."
Ruiz' biggest UK scalp yet could arrive on April 3rd, when he attempts to win his third WBA world heavyweight title from South Londoner Haye. Aware of the danger ahead, Ruiz nevertheless feels confident about his chances.
"It's a tough fight," admitted 'The Quiet Man'. "Haye moves around, he's a quick guy and he tends to escape punches. It's my focus to stay on top of him and make him fight my fight. I have to go out there and just fight the way I always do. I do that in every fight. That's the name of the game. Hopefully he's ready for me.
"I have to make this an up close and personal fight. I think his movement is his main weapon and I have to stop him. I have to corner him."
Finally, with Haye dubbing Ruiz the 'cure for insomnia', it didn't take long for the Massachusettes-native to bite back and have his say on the matter. Highlighting Haye's most recent fight with Nikolai Valuev, Ruiz revealed that he's not the only one prone to the odd dull night.
"I'm just glad he's talking," said Ruiz. "In reality I guess that's his motivation. From what I saw of him in his last fight, he's the one who is boring. He's calling me boring? I guess that's like throwing rocks from a glass house. How many punches did he throw in his last fight? 10 punches a round? How can he then go out and call me boring, when I'm throwing at least 15 or 20 punches a round in every fight?
"He's obviously trying to motivate himself for this fight and he knows he's got his hands full."