John Ruiz - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John "The Quietman" Ruiz (born January 4, 1972 in Methuen

Methuen, Massachusetts

Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 43,789 at the 2000 census.-History:Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726; it is named for the British diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill,...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

), is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April 26, 2010. His final fight was a title shot against the then WBA heavyweight title holder David Haye

David Haye

David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...

, in which Ruiz was defeated by TKO in round 9.

Ruiz has defeated three world champions in Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...

, Hasim Rahman

Hasim Rahman

Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...

, and Tony Tucker

Tony Tucker

Tony Craig Tucker is a retired professional heavyweight boxer. Tucker fought professionally from 1980 to 1998. Nicknamed "TNT," he won a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, and was briefly a world heavyweight champion as a professional.-Amateur career:Tucker had a notable amateur career,...

, as well as top contenders such as Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo

Fres Oquendo

Fres Oquendo was born April 1, 1973 in Puerto Rico, and is a professional heavyweight boxer.He had a successful amateur background.-Amateur career:He had an amateur record of 105-51990 178 lb. Springfield Golden Gloves Champion1992 178 lb...

, Jameel McCline

Jameel McCline

Jameel “Big Time” McCline is a professional heavyweight boxer notable for his speed, strength, and size at 6'6" and 269 lbs. Currently ranked at number 9 in the WBCworld heavyweight ratings...

, and Kirk Johnson.

He is currently residing in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

Professional career

His professional record is 44–9–1–1, with 30 knockouts. Frustrated by years of criticism from the boxing press and fans, he retired upon his second loss of the WBA Title on April 30, 2005 (to James "Lights-Out" Toney

James Toney

James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...

). Ruiz un-retired in 10 days, after finding out that James Toney had tested positive for anabolic steroids. The official outcome, a unanimous-decision defeat, was changed to a no-contest; the WBA ordered that Ruiz retain the title. Ruiz then filed a lawsuit against Toney, claiming that he had damaged Ruiz's boxing career (due to Toney's use of illegal steroids before their bout).

On December 17, 2005 he lost his title for the third time — in controversial fashion, — to Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev or Valuyev is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight , he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision...

. Ruiz lost a rematch for the vacant WBA Heavyweight title with Valuev on August 30, 2008.

First reign as WBA champion

After Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis

Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...

defeated Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield

for the Undisputed (i.e., WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

+ IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

+ WBA

World Boxing Association

) World heavyweight championship in late 1999, the WBA mysteriously ordered Lewis to defend the title against obscure Don King fighter Ruiz, their #1-ranked contender, but Lewis refused. Though he had been undefeated since a loss against David Tua

David Tua

David "Tuamanator" Tua is a New Zealand professional heavyweight boxer, fighting out of South Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.He is a former WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion....

in 1996, the level of competition Ruiz had been facing was suspect and the only name he had beaten was a nearly 40 year old Tony Tucker

Tony Tucker

.

Ruiz and his management sued, claiming that WBA rules entitled him to a title shot. A judge agreed, but rather than face Ruiz in a bout that was seen as commercially unattractive, Lewis instead fought Michael Grant

Michael Grant (boxer)

Michael Anthony Grant is a professional heavyweight boxer. He is 6' 7" tall, with an 86' reach. A natural born athlete before boxing he blossomed into a three-sport star at Chicago's Harper High School...

, considered to be a very worthy contender at the time having knocked out a series of recognized 'name' opponents on HBO. After learning of this, the judge decreed that upon entering the ring against Grant on April 29, 2000, Lewis would automatically forfeit the WBA title.

Ruiz fought former champion Holyfield to fill the vacancy on August 12, 2000, losing by unanimous decision

Unanimous decision

A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....

(this result made Holyfield the first to win a world heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

title on four separate occasions). Many observers and boxing reporters felt that the underdog Ruiz had done enough to win.

Due to this controversial decision, the WBA ordered an immediate rematch in early 2001, and Ruiz won the WBA title in a slightly less-close unanimous decision - controversial as Ruiz had been decked by a Holyfield body shot and rolled around on the floor holding his groin for over a minute. The replay shows that the blow was a legal bodyshot, not remotely near Ruiz's crotch, and should have been scored a KO10 victory for Holyfield.

Ruiz defended the title twice: a controversial draw in a third match against Holyfield where the press believed Holyfield to have won, and a disqualification victory against Kirk Johnson where the Canadian contender was disqualified for repeated low blows in the tenth round. Ruiz was accused in both the second Holyfield fight and the Johnson fight of faking low blows that actually seemed to be closer to his beltline than his groin (although Johnson was shown on replays to hit Ruiz below the belt several times).

On March 1, 2003, Ruiz was contracted to fight Roy Jones, Jr., who at the time was The Ring light heavyweight champion. If Jones was to beat Ruiz in the fight, he would join Bob Fitzsimmons

Bob Fitzsimmons

Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...

, Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks is a retired American boxer who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions...

, and Michael Moorer

Michael Moorer

Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...

as the only three fighters to win titles at light heavyweight and heavyweight as well as becoming the second fighter (Fitzsimmons being the first) to win titles at both middleweight and heavyweight. Ruiz, who said the referee "wouldn't let me fight my fight", lost a unanimous decision to Jones and moved back into the WBA's contender pool.

Second reign as WBA champion

Ruiz, however, would receive another shot before 2003 was out. As champion Jones was required to face the WBA's number one contender, former WBO champion Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko

Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...

. Neither the Jones nor the Klitschko camps were able to agree to a fight by an imposed deadline, so Jones became a champion-in-recess. Klitschko, however, did not want to fight the #2 contender, former WBC, IBF, and lineal champion Hasim Rahman

Hasim Rahman

Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...

, for the interim championship. After David Tua

David Tua

David "Tuamanator" Tua is a New Zealand professional heavyweight boxer, fighting out of South Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.He is a former WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion....

, the #3 contender, also turned down the fight against Rahman Ruiz, the #5 contender and the only one interested in the fight, decided to accept. He fought Rahman on December 13, 2003, and with a unanimous decision victory became the WBA's interim champion. When Jones announced on February 24, 2004 that he would return to competing in the light heavyweight division, the WBA took the interim tag off of Ruiz and he became an official two-time world heavyweight champion.

On April 17, 2004, Ruiz fought the first defense of his second world title. He retained it with an eleventh-round technical knockout of Fres Oquendo

Fres Oquendo

at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

. This fight was historic in that it was the first time two Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

s/Latino

Latino

The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

s faced each other for a world heavyweight title.

On November 13 of that same year, Ruiz retained the belt with a close unanimous-decision over Polish-American Andrzej Gołota (a.k.a., "Andrew" Golota), although he suffered two knockdowns and a one-point deduction by referee Randy Neumann

Randy Neumann

Randy Neumann, born and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey in 1948, is a former professional boxer who has been a referee for the New York State Athletic Commission since 1982...

. But Ruiz managed to win the complete 2nd half of the fight which was enough get the decision.

On April 30, 2005, Ruiz lost the title to James "Lights Out" Toney in Madison Square Garden by unanimous decision, marking the second time that Ruiz had lost to a former middleweight champion. However, after Toney failed the post-match drug test (for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid), the New York Athletic Commission suspended him from boxing in the USA for 90 days, and fined him $10,000 (U.S.). The WBA banned the aging (then 36 years-old) Toney from fighting for its heavyweight title for the next two years. This resulted in Toney's win being changed to a "no contest" — basically, a nullification. Ruiz came out of retirement before it was found out that Toney would be suspended and he would be reinstated as champion.

Controversial Loss To Valuev

On December 17, 2005, Ruiz lost the WBA Championship in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

to 7 ft. tall, 324-lb. Russian Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Valuev

. The official outcome was a majority decision

Majority decision

A majority decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking...

(scored 114-116, 113-116, and 114-114), but it was also a controversial one. Ruiz was convinced that his jab / combination-punch technique had given him a clear victory. He demanded that his promoter, Don King, set up an immediate re-match with the now-first-ever Russian world heavyweight champion. Ruiz's long-time manager, Norman Stone, declared that they would also formally petition the WBA: after all, the 10,000 German spectators booed when the decision was announced. Ruiz's camp claimed that the Germans booed because they too felt that the outcome was unjust. Wilfried Sauerland, the manager who rescued Valuev's career from obscurity 2 years earlier, angrily countered that the fans had booed because Stone's in-ring behavior had agitated them.

In September 2006 Ruiz announced that he would be managed by Sauerland. His former manager Norman Stone retired on December 22, 2005, stating that the decision in the loss to Valuev was the last straw, and he would continue to support Ruiz from retirement.

The Road Back

After the loss Don King announced his intention to still promote Ruiz. King had become aware of Ruiz after his KO win over the former IBF title holder Tony Tucker

Tony Tucker

in 1998.http://www.doghouseboxing.com/chee/chee_0908g06.htm
Ruiz followed up the loss to Valuev with a fight against up-and-coming contender Ruslan Chagaev

Ruslan Chagaev

Ruslan Chagaev born October 19, 1978 in Andijan, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union) is an Uzbekistani former WBA heavyweight boxing champion of Tatar ethnicity...

. In a close fight, Chagaev prevailed, taking a split decision with scores of 117-111 and 116-112 for Chagaev, and 115-114 for Ruiz. Chagaev became the mandatory challenger for a shot at Valuev, whom he defeated on April 14, 2007 to claim the WBA heavyweight championship.

Another Comeback

Ruiz faced Otis Tisdale on 10/13/07 and ended the fight with a TKO victory in the 2nd round as referee Pete Podgorski

Pete Podgorski

Pete Podgorski is a former amateur and professional light middleweight boxer, as well as a boxing official. As an amateur, Podgorski compiled a 45-12 record, along with twenty knockouts, The 1972 C.Y.O. Welterweight Champion, 1973 Fox Valley, Wisconsin Golden Gloves Champion, and 1977 C.P.D. Open...

called a halt to the bout as Tisdale went down for the third time. The bout was scheduled for 10 rounds. On March 8, 2008 Ruiz won a 12 round unanimous decision over Jameel McCline

Jameel McCline

Jameel “Big Time” McCline is a professional heavyweight boxer notable for his speed, strength, and size at 6'6" and 269 lbs. Currently ranked at number 9 in the WBCworld heavyweight ratings...

in Mexico.

Valuev-Ruiz II

Valuev defeated Ruiz by unanimous decision on August 30. Scores were 114-113, 116-113, and 116-111. The result was initially declared a split decision win for Valuev. The 114-113 score by ringside judge Takeshi Shimakawa was announced in favor of Ruiz. Shimakwa alerted WBA officials after that his score was intended for Valuev. One of the scorecards had the names of the fighters in opposite order, resulting in the confusion.

The decision was once again unpopular with the live crowd as some booed the outcome, much like the first match in December 2005.

Another title shot

After petitioning the WBA to protest against the outcome of his controversial fight with Valuev, Ruiz was made the WBA's mandatory challenger to fight the winner of Chagaev-Valuev II in 2009. As that bout was cancelled Ruiz stepped aside as mandatory challenger so Valuev could fight Cruiserweight Champion David Haye

David Haye

. On the undercard to that fight Ruiz stopped Adnan Serin in 7 rounds. Ruiz, coming in at 226 pounds (his lightest since 2001), dominated his overmatched opponent to retain his mandatory challenge to the WBA belt. Valuev later lost a majority decision to David Haye

David Haye

, meaning Ruiz would now fight Haye for the WBA title, after Haye had recovered from a hand injury. When the fight took place on April 3 at the M.E.N. Arena

Manchester Evening News Arena

The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...

in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Ruiz lost to Haye by TKO when his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round after suffering four knockdowns in the previous rounds. Ruiz, whose face was covered in blood, could not stand up to Haye's greater speed and power.

Retirement

Ruiz retired following the loss to Haye after an 18 year boxing career. He indicated that he may return to boxing as a trainer at some point.

Professional boxing record

David Haye

|TKO
|9
|
|align=left|

Adnan Serin
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|

Nikolai Valuev

|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Jameel McCline

Jameel “Big Time” McCline is a professional heavyweight boxer notable for his speed, strength, and size at 6'6" and 269 lbs. Currently ranked at number 9 in the WBCworld heavyweight ratings...

|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Otis Tisdale
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

Ruslan Chagaev

Ruslan Chagaev born October 19, 1978 in Andijan, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union) is an Uzbekistani former WBA heavyweight boxing champion of Tatar ethnicity...

|SD
|12
|
|align=left|

Nikolai Valuev

|MD
|12
|
|align=left|

James Toney

|ND
|12
|
|align=left|

Andrew Golota
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Fres Oquendo

|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|

Hasim Rahman

Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...

|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Roy Jones Jr.
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Kirk Johnson
|DQ
|10
|
|align=left|

Evander Holyfield

|SD
|12
|
|align=left|

Evander Holyfield

|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Evander Holyfield

|UD
|12
|
|align=left|

Thomas Williams
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

Fernely Feliz
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|

Mario Cawley
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Jerry Ballard
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Tony Tucker

|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|

Ray Anis
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Jimmy Thunder

Jimmy Thunder , is a former Samoan boxer.- Early life :During his early life and amateur career, Thunder was known as Jimmy Peau. His mother Papaliitele Milagi Leaupepe is from the village of Fasitoouta, and his father Lupematasila Maalo Faasavalu Peau is from the village of Falelatai...

|SD
|12
|
|align=left|

Yuriy Yelistratov
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|

Nathaniel Fitch

Nathaniel Fitch is a former heavyweight boxer best known for his stellar amateur boxing career.-Professional career:...

|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|

Greg Pickrom
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Doug Davis
|TKO
|6
|
|align=left|

David Tua

David "Tuamanator" Tua is a New Zealand professional heavyweight boxer, fighting out of South Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.He is a former WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion....

|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

Steve Pannell
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Willie Jackson
|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

Derrick Roddy
|KO
|2
|
|align=left|

Michael Murray
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Jack Basting
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Boris Powell
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|

Rick Sullivan
|KO
|2
|
|align=left|

Danell Nicholson

Danell Nicholson was an American Olympian and a boxer in the heavyweight division.-Amateur career:Nicholson was a member of the 1992 United States Olympic Team as a Heavyweight...

|SD
|12
|
|align=left|

Muhammad Askai
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

Julius Francis

Julius Francis is a former British Heavyweight champion boxer - who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2007 he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout....

|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|

Carl Williams
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Cordwell Hylton
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Sergei Kobozev

Sergey Kobozev was a Russian boxer who defeated John Ruiz and was later murdered by Russian mafia during a pub brawl.-Early life:Kobozev had been a captain in the Russian army and was a chemical engineer in St...

|SD
|10
|
|align=left|

Exum Speight
|UD
|8
|
|align=left|

George Chambers
|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

Mark Sonnier
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Juan Quintana
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Lorenzo Poole
|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left|Derrick Jones
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

Phil Prince
|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

Miguel Rosa
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

John Basil Jackson
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Jesus Rohena
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|

John Basil Jackson
|PTS
|6
|
|align=left|

Barry Kirton
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|

Mike Vasser
|KO
|1
|
|align=left|

Kevin Parker
|UD
|4
|
|align=left|

|align=left|
|-align=center

Amateur Highlights

1991 competed as a Light Heavyweight at the World Championships in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
- Defeated Mohamed Benguesmia (Algeria) PST (22-11)
- Defeated Miodrag Radulovic
  Miodrag Radulovic
  Miodrag Radulović is a Montenegrin football manager. He is currently managing Montenegrin First League club FK Budućnost Podgorica.-Playing career:...
  
  (Yugoslavia) RSC-3
- Lost to Andrey Kurniavka (Soviet Union) PTS (14-20)
1992 competed at the Olympic Trials in Worcester. Result was:
- Lost to Jeremy Williams
  Jeremy Williams (boxer)
  Jeremy Williams is a former professional boxer and mixed martial artist.-Amateur career:As an amateur, he was the 1989 and 1990 United States amateur Light Heavyweight champion and the 1990 and 1991 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight champion, and is a member of the Golden Gloves hall of...
  
  PTS

External links

John Ruiz's Home Page
John Ruiz Fight-by-Fight Career Record
Video clip of Ruiz vs Tua fight
Chelsea, MA
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...

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