Ruiz The Silent Man The best fighter I ve ever faced is not Holyfield Haye

Mondo Sports Updated on 2024-02-14

The Ruiz I'm talking about today is not "Chubby" Andy JrRuiz, but John who is known as the "Silent Man".Ruiz, who is the first Puerto Rican heavyweight champion in history......

Before you know it, Ruiz has been out of boxing for 14 years, and 14 years ago, in 2010, at the age of 38, he ended his career after losing to Briton David Haye.

Ruiz isn't a star fighter like Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis, but he has played a major role in the heavyweight division of the early 21st century, and he's a champion who is more powerful than famous, and a title ...... that is easily forgotten

Born in Massachusetts to Puerto Rican immigrant parents, Ruiz returned to Puerto Rico with his family when he was a few months old, where he lived for seven years before returning to Massachusetts. Later, in addition to the nickname "The Silent Man", Ruiz had another nickname - "Hurricane Massachusetts".

Ruiz's early career was unremarkable, and he was even the target of ridicule until he defeated his opponent to win the WBA heavyweight title in a rematch with Evand Holyfield in 2001. In 2003, Ruiz made the talented fighter Roy Jones Jr. a four-time World Champion in different divisions, but in 2004, Ruiz regained the WBA title.

Now, at the age of 52, Ruiz has opened a gym in Massachusetts and is living a full and stable life, when asked who is the best fighter in his career? He said that it was not Holyfield as everyone speculated, nor Jones or Haye.

Ruiz said"The biggest opponent I've ever faced is DavidTua, he's like a mule. Sometimes it just happens, and I admit that Tua took the chance. ”

The fight with Tua was an eternal pain in Ruiz's boxing career, and the fight staged in 1996 lasted only 19 seconds, and Ruiz was knocked unconscious by "Little Tyson" Tua almost without reacting, so that for many years afterward, when people mention Ruiz, they will think of him being killed by Tua. Later, someone had planned to match Ruiz and Tua in a rematch, but unfortunately it did not materialize, and it is unclear what would happen if the two sides met again.

When asked who is the most skilled fighter he has ever encountered? Ruiz said Jones' name:"He's moving around in the ring, he's doing everything he can do with his technique, I can't attack Jones on the inside, he's the fastest I've ever seen, and because of his lower weight, Jones' punches are like lightning. ”

However, when it comes to who has the strongest overall strength? Ruiz bestowed the honour on Holyfield, saying:"Holyfield has a lot of experience and his influence is created through big battles. Holyfield is the smartest fighter I've ever met, with great technique and knows what needs to be done to win. Against Holyfield, I brought everything into the ring, but Holyfield did everything he could to defuse it and no matter what I did, he was able to get out. ”

Ruiz and Holyfield should be grateful to each other, and in their first meeting in 2000, the elder Huo narrowly defeated Ruiz by a narrow score to become the only fighter to win four heavyweight titles to date. The two then had a rematch, with Ruiz knocking out his opponent once and eventually winning on points to officially become the king of boxing, and then in 2002, Ruiz and Holyfield had a trilogy fight that ended in a draw.

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