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John Ruiz:
Boxings Most Underappreciated
Overachiever
BY AARON TALLENT (HTTP://WWW.THESWEETSCIENCE.COM/AUTHOR/AARON TALLENT)
ON APR 30 2005 2:00 AM
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The boxing faithful
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The Quiet Man is arguably one of the most loathed heavyweight champions in
recent memory. His fan base is minimal, other boxers make fun of his style,
and sports writers do not hesitate to call his matches yawn fests before they
even take place.

No one can argue with the last part. I will be the last person to call it a tragedy
if a Ruiz bout never makes Fight of the Year. The only shame comes in that all
of these insults are mixed with under appreciation. Boxing is a sport that
constantly redeems its biggest squanderers of talent but seems to have very
few kind words for one of its biggest overachievers.

John Ruizs career is the ultimate exercise in perseverance. His first 27 bouts
against journeymen and up-and-comers included two lost split decisions. In
his 28th fight, David Tua knocked him out 19 seconds into the first round.

Most boxers have a tough time forgiving themselves after a loss like that.
Most boxers have a tough time forgiving themselves after a loss like that.
Nobody would have blamed Ruiz if he had traded boxing gloves for a plate on
the buffet line. However, Ruiz collected himself and trudged on, jabbing,
grabbing, and sneaking a right hand in whenever he could. The Quiet Man won
his next eleven bouts after the Tua fight, ten of them by knockout. By 2000,
he found himself rated as the WBAs number one contender.

Then-undisputed champ Lennox Lewis chose to relinquish his WBA

Heavyweight title rather than face Ruiz, which led to the trilogy with Evander
Holyfield. The Real Deal won the vacant belt in first bout, but it was so close
that he had no choice but to give Ruiz a rematch. The Quiet Man convincingly
won the decision the second time around, dropping Holyfield in the 11th
round. The rubber match ended in a disputed draw, and Ruiz kept his belt.

In March of 2003, Roy Jones challenged Ruiz for the WBA belt and then stuck
and moved his way to becoming the first middleweight in 100 years to win
the heavyweight title. Jones decided not to defend his belt and moved back
down to the light heavyweight ranks, and Ruiz found himself decisioning
Hasim Rahman for the vacant WBA belt.

On paper, this is the record of a respected, resilient fighter. In the ring, the
respected part is tossed out. The savage knockout by Tua really hurts his
credibility. The lopsided loss to Jones followed by Jones subsequent
knockouts by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson do not help matters either. But
even the most casual boxing fans know Ruizs lack of appreciation all boils
down to his style of fighting. If Ruiz were even remotely exciting inside the
squared circle, boxing fans would forgive him for the losses to Tua and Jones.

Sadly, though, he is not. His repertoire mainly consists of jab, jab, grab, maul,
and an occasional right hand. At times, it is downright nauseating to watch.
But in Ruizs case, it is all he can do, and he maintains the discipline to do it
very well.

Ruiz does not have much of a jab or left hook. He has very little mobility and
no speed whatsoever. All the Quiet Man really has to offer an opponent is a
sneaky right hand and a bulky frame, two attributes he uses relentlessly and
effectively. Many fighters with much more ability have not won two
heavyweight titles.

It is hard to appreciate the fighter if you despise the way he fights. I can
It is hard to appreciate the fighter if you despise the way he fights. I can
certainly understand why his style is so abhorred. I sat in Madison Square
Garden for his muddling ballets with Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golota. In the
Oquendo bout, I took Lennox Lewis cue and got up to go the bathroom
midway through the fight. With Golota, I was more concerned with whether or
not the Foul Poles fans would spit on me throughout most of the fight.

But that bout with Golota was when I gained the most respect for Ruiz.
Amidst a sea of Polish red and white, Ruiz got off to a horrible start. Golota,
making the most of his third title shot, dropped Ruiz twice in the second
round. The Quiet Man then had a point deducted for hitting after the break.
Ruiz seemed done for, and the anti-Ruiz faithful began to salivate at the
thought of a new, exciting champion.

Then Ruiz regained his composure. He swarmed Golota, a fighter with much
more talent. Ruiz jabbed, clinched, clinched some more, and landed his
sneaky right. He was even able to keep at it when his trainer, Norman Stone,
was ejected for the last four rounds.

When the final bell sounded, many still expected a Golota decision, but that is
the hidden beauty of Ruizs style. Because of Ruizs continuous mauling, most
of the Foul Poles shots landed towards the back of Ruizs head and received
no points. Though it may not have been a pretty strategy, it was certainly a
winning one.

And unless James Toney can stick and move for twelve straight rounds, he will
find himself on the bad side of that winning strategy, too. Unfortunately, it
may be many years before the boxing faithful find the proper admiration for
the sports most underappreciated overachiever.

TALK N SHOOT PODCAST W/ MIGUEL ITURRATE 47TH

EDITION (JULY 21)
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