I don’t know if I was the only that noticed this or not, but when Andre Dirrell was crying after his 11th round disqualification victory over Arthur Abraham last Saturday night in their Super Six tournament fight in Detroit, Michigan. Dirrell had been easily winning most of the fight when he seemed to fade in the 10th round. In the 11th, Dirrell was running for his life from Abraham when he slipped on the canvas. Abraham, not one to waste a good opportunity, loaded up plastered the side of Dirrell’s head with a nice uppercut.
Dirrell had time enough to look at Abraham, grab his face, wince and then keel over on his side, looking like he was out cold for a brief moment. The fight was stopped at that point as the referee Lawrence Cole disqualified Abraham for the foul. I think it was a good call. I have no problem with that, but I was kind of confused about the crying that Dirrell did after he was revived by the ringside doctor.
Normally when a person cries, they have tears rolling down their face, but for some reason Dirrell had no tears whatsoever. I didn’t know what to think about it. I thought he was really hurt up until I noticed that there was no tears falling down his face, yet he was crying off and on for at least a minute. I’m not an expert crying, but as far as I can tell, a person usually produces tears when they cry.
I didn’t see any tears coming from Dirrell’s face. My question is why weren’t any tears falling down Dirrell’s face? That’s really weird. Was Dirrell really crying or just whining? If Dirrell was just whining, then I can understand the absence of tears. Whining can have tears or no tears. Whining is when a person complains in a tearful way, but it doesn’t need to have tears present.
Dirrell was clearly complaining after the fight, and looking really confused about what had happened. I don’t know whether that was because he was feeling the effects of the knockout or something else. If Dirrell was faking, then he might have not known how to act. I don’t whether Dirrell was hurt or not. All I do know is that I didn’t see any tears falling down his face when he was seemingly crying.
That was what struck me as kind of strange. When I see persons crying and no tears coming out, I tend to think they’re acting. When a person is genuinely upset, like in the loss of a loved one, it’s not something you can control. So for Dirrell to be crying and nothing coming down his face in the way of tears, I’m left wondering why that was.
Perhaps it was just a case of Dirrell just whining and not crying. It’s really hard to tell. Not too many people have said anything about Dirrell crying, so maybe it’s not a big deal with anyone. It just seemed a little strange to me that there weren’t any tears.
Abraham said after the fight that Dirrell was “a good actor.” I don’t know. If Dirrell was acting, I wouldn’t call it good acting, because a good actor would have been able to produce tears and I saw none from Dirrell last Saturday night. I don’t know if Dirrell was really hurt or not, but I guess I have to believe he was because no one in their right mind would go trough all the trouble to fake being knocked out.
Ranking a fighter pound-for-pound has never been easy for me.
Some fighters are exciting to watch whether they win or lose. It’s really hard to rank a fighter based on pound-for-pound.
What do you look for?
Some fighters are big punchers who knockout their opponents; then there are some fighters who are so skillful in the ring, that they can hit and don’t get hit. Meaning they give punishment, but taking very little punishment themselves, if any at all.
Should a pound-for-pound fighter be judged on how many opponents they knockout, or what kind of ring generalship they show in the ring? There have been some experts in the sport that don’t believe in a best pound-for-pound ranking. Hall of Fame Trainer and HBO boxing analyst Emanuel Steward does not believe in such a thing.
Steward feels that ranking a boxer pound-for-pound is something that’s been made up of lately. Steward has been involved in the sport of boxing for many decades and “when he’s asked that question” he quickly ops out of it. “I don’t believe in a pound-for-pound ranking,” he’d say without any hesitation.
I remember during a HBO telecast years ago, Hall of Fame Boxing Analyst Jim Lampley asked Steward to pick the pound-for-pound best fighter for that era. Steward quickly responded, “I don’t have one”. I just don’t believe in a pound-for-pound ranking. He then said, “If I had to pick a fighter, I would have to pick my all time favorite, and that is…Sugar Ray Robinson. He would be the only one worth such a title” pound-for-pound in his opinion, he said.
That same year, during a Roy Jones, JR., fight, Lampley asked Former Heavyweight Champion and HBO boxing analyst at the time, George Foreman that same question. Foreman answered saying, “trying to rank a fighter pound-for-pound is pure garbage, there should be no such thing.”
Lampley smiled and turn away.
I really share the same views as Emanuel Steward and George Foreman on this subject. Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to ranking fighters. I’m one that enjoys the “sweet science of boxing.”
I rank fighters high who display skills in the ring. No disrespect to the trainers, but–smart fighters who can think for themselves in the ring to pull off a win, gets my vote.
A fighter that is smart and can deliver punishment without taking much in return, while in the ring, and win, gets my vote.
Fighters such as; Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Aaron Pryor, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd ”Money” Mayweather. These fighters have displayed unbelievable skills in the ring. I usually can look at fighter’s face at the end of any bout and see the damage that was done in the ring
Very rarely did these guys show damage to their face after a fight.
I’ve just recently added Manny Pacquiao to these special names above; even though his defense is still a little suspect, but the excitement he always brings makes him worthy.
To place Pacquiao at the top of the current pound-4-pound list, will be based on how well he competes against Mayweather and Mosley should those fights take place.
If there is a pound for pound list, this is what it would be:
1. Floyd Mayweather, JR
2. Shane Mosley
3. Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao
4. Bernard Hopkins
5. Juan Manuel Marquez
6. Paul Williams
7. Chad Dawson
8. Israel Vazquez
9. Miguel Cotto
10. Nonito Donaire
Some may agree or disagree with my picks, but this is how I rank the best fighters in the world today.
John Ruiz has taunted David Haye, claiming: "Is boring the worst thing you can say about me?"
Ruiz had steeled himself for a barrage of abuse from WBA heavyweight king Haye after his verbal attacks on Nikolai Valuev when he dismissed the Beast from the East as a "smelly, hairy circus freak".
But the American challenger says he laughed when he heard the best insult Haye could come up with was to call him a "cure for insomnia".
The former two-time world champ sees this as a victory in the mind games between the fighters and can't wait to get in the ring with him at Manchester's MEN Arena on Saturday.
"If that's the worst thing he can say about me, then I'm very shocked because people say he really likes to talk," said Ruiz.
"If this is what he has to do to get motivated and get in fight mode, then he'd better do as much talking as he needs to because come Saturday, I'll be ready to do my talking in the ring."
Ruiz, 38, first won the WBA crown when he beat the legendary Evander Holyfield nine years ago when Haye was still an amateur.
This will be the Quiet Man's 55th fight at heavyweight and he feels Haye, who has had just three fights at this weight, has never come up against someone of his pedigree.
"This is a test for him because he's going to realise this is a heavyweight fight here against a guy who comes to fight," he said.
"He's got a fight on his hands. We know he likes to move around a lot and at times take things easy, but we want to throw him off the groove, let him know that basically he's going to have to throw enough punches to keep me away from him."
Mandatory challenger Ruiz stepped aside in November so that the Londoner could take the title from Valuev and he feels this has worked to his advantage.
He lost twice to the giant Russian and did not fancy his chances of getting a decision in Germany if they had fought a third time.
"I congratulate David for winning the title," said Ruiz, who beat Turk Adnan Serin in seven rounds on the undercard that night in Nuremberg. "It gives me an opportunity to fight someone else other than Valuev, "This time with Haye I think it's better fight for me. I know he might be a better opponent than Valuev, but trust me, this is a better fight for me."
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While Haye is motivated by the desire to fight the Klitschkos, Ruiz, who is an inch shorter than the champ at 6ft 2ins, is driven by the ambition of joining an elite band of fighters who have been three-time world champs.
"I could join some of the great names," he said.
RUIZ RECORD
Wins 44 (30 by KO)
Defeats 8 (1 by KO)
Draws 1
Ko win % 56
Rounds boxed 322
Age: 38
Height: 6ft 2in Reach: 78 inches
Born and lives in Massachusetts, USA
Haye to win with 1st round KO 12-1; Ruiz to be counted out at any time 4-7; Haye to win on points 9/4; Ruiz to win by KO 13/2; Ruiz to win on points 10/1.
John Ruiz has set his sights on making history when he challenges David Haye for the WBA world heavyweight title in Manchester on Saturday night.
Victory over Briton Haye would see Ruiz join legends Muhammad Aliand Evander Holyfield in seizing the crown for a third time.
"To be included alongside names like Ali and Holyfield would be a dream come true," American Ruiz said.
"I'll give it everything I can, let's see how the chips fall."
Haye claimed the heavyweight title by beating giant Russian Nikolay Valuev on a majority points decision last November in Nuremberg.
And Ruiz, who lost on points to Valuev in 2005 and 2008, believes Haye was fortunate to sway the judges.
"I was surprised he got a decision out there [Germany], Ruiz told BBC Sport.
"I tried three times to get a decision out in Germany but luck was with him, and I bless him and congratulate him, and this time he knows that he will have a fight on his hands come Saturday.
"He did what he needed to do he got the win and if I knew that was the kind of style you needed to use I would have done the same kind of style."
Ruiz, with eight losses, 30 knockouts and one draw in a 54-fight career, claims his opponent is a relative unknown amongst the American boxing public.
"He is still in the beginning stages I mean his name is spreading around but he still has to face someone who has been in the heavyweight division and that is me," said Ruiz, who last fought in November, beating Adnan Serin inside seven rounds.
"When people ask me who I'm fighting and I tell them they still don't know who he is. But sometimes I like to be not known than known and maybe he feels the same way."
Londoner Haye, who has lost once in 24 fights, has described Ruiz as an "ugly type of fighter that drags people down".
However Ruiz, nicknamed the 'The Quiet Man', says he plans to adjust his style for Saturday's MEN Arena bout.
"You are definitely going to see something more of the old-style Ruiz where I used to box and punch, not like recently when I was leaning in too much and came into the hold situation.
"It will definitely play a big role in the fight, with David Haye being the smaller guy and me leaning in on him it could count as a plus. I've got to play it by ear when I step into that ring."
Bernard Hopkins will step into the ring on Saturday night against Roy Jones Jr. for their long-awaited rematch, but before he does that he stopped here at FanHouse to answer readers' questions in a live chat.
The full chat transcript is below.
[Comment From Billy: ]
Could you put into words how much it means to you to finally get a second shot at Jones?
Bernard Hopkins: It means a lot. I'm highly motivated and ready to go. Seventeen years in the making is a whole lot.
[Comment From Tyler (Memphis, TN): ]
Bernard, did you see the Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham fight and, if so, what did you think about the ending?
Bernard Hopkins: I didn't see it. I watch a lot of boxing, but when I'm in training I'm up at 5 in the morning so I don't get a chance to see many of those late-night fights.
[Comment From Keith: ]
In the past, you have been highly critical of your hometown quarterback, Donovan McNabb. What are your thoughts on his probable exit from Philly and the Eagles' future under Kevin Kolb?
Bernard Hopkins: After my victory Saturday night I'm going to have a big party where we celebrate sending McNabb where ever he goes. The Eagles have a chance to get to a Super Bowl and a change is well overdue. I think the starter should be Michael Vick and the backup should be Kevin Kolb but I think both guys should get a chance and Vick might still need some time to get comfortable. I'd actually like to see them mix both guys up. I think either one, both having different styles, can be successful.
Vick is a running quarterback. McNabb was a running quarterback early in his career with the Eagles but he changed. Somebody suggested that he should stay in the pocket. And I'm like, McNabb, don't be an idiot. God gave you the ability -- take advantage of that. It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing.
[Comment From Brian: ]
What do you make of the Joe Calzaghe story? Do you think he'll fight again?
Bernard Hopkins: I think he will fight again. He's obviously pretty good at keeping things quiet because nobody heard about it until now. I hope it's not bad -- drugs can do bad things to people. But he came out and told everybody what was going on with his statement. I hope everything is alright with him. For 90-plus percent of athletes, drugs aren't part of what we do. We walk a straight line.
[Comment From Deon Willis: ]
Roy Jones is a washed up fighter, you're still a high prized fighter why take this fight?
Bernard Hopkins: To me, it's personal redemption. People need to understand that this fight didn't happen for me when I wanted it to happen. Roy isn't the same fighter he was years ago. Neither am I. But I think the world would agree that I have a lot more left than he does. This rivalry, to me, is like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Roy doesn't like me, I don't like Roy. Roy wanted to handcuff my career and I had to make my career out of what I could. And now two legends with 80 years of experience will be on display on Saturday night and I think boxing fans will be doing themselves a disservice if they don't watch two legends. When is the next time you're going to see two legends go at it like this? Roy Jones has pride and Roy Jones wants to go out knowing that he beat Bernard Hopkins, and I think that makes him dangerous. I don't want people to think he's washed up to that point.
I'm also hoping to bring the best out of him and I think that if I bring the best out of him that will also bring the best out of me. Roy has nothing to lose, and that makes him very dangerous.
[Comment From Nardfan: ]
Bernard - huge fan. Just wondering what your plans are for the next few years? You're obviously still capable of putting the hurt on people (any guys on your radar for future fights?) and involved in promoting with Golden Boy, but would you ever consider becoming a trainer down the road? If so, is there any up and coming talent you feel you could help mold? Good luck this weekend, but I doubt you'll need it.
Bernard Hopkins: I definitely won't become a trainer. I prefer the business part of it, I like promoting fights. I would also like to accomplish something that only two middleweights have accomplished in history and that's moving up to heavyweight and becoming champion of the world.
David Haye and John Ruiz are fighting in England and my goal is to finish off Roy Jones with an outstanding victory and then campaign in the early fall or late winter -- with time to get my body ready for it -- to become the third middleweight to win a piece of the heavyweight champion. That's my goal, the Haye-Ruiz winner. No catchweight, none of that stuff -- I want the heavyweight title.
I've already got my training nailed down to move up to heavyweight -- my trainer has spent a lot of time looking at my body muscle mass and helped me figure out that at 200 to 204 pounds I can be explosive, speedy and win as a heavyweight at that weight. Keep in mind, David Haye is a big, strong guy, but he's not a Klitschko. He's bigger than me but it's not something where you'd say, "Bernard, are you kidding me?" Now, the Klitschko brothers, those guys are just huge. But it's realistic to think I could go after David Haye or John Ruiz.
I think the winner of John Ruiz-David Haye and me and Roy Jones, it makes a lot of sense.
[Comment From Future MiddleWieghtChamp: ]
How did you feel this fight with Roy Jones Jr. will effect your career win or lose?
Bernard Hopkins: Well, if I lose it would be devastating. If I win it would be, "Bernard has finally settled the score with Roy Jones Jr." Losing is no option. I have to win this fight and will win this fight. This fight will take me to the next stage, the next level of things I want to do. People are waiting for reasons to write Bernard Hopkins off and I'm not going to give them a reason for that.
I'm going to leave boxing one day, but if I'm going to leave on my terms, I must beat Roy Jones.
[Comment From CMeaux CMeaux: ]
Floyd Jr. or Suga Shane? I'm guyessing you and Suga are BFF's so him right?
Bernard Hopkins: I'm picking a tough fight early on, a tough fight that will be competitive early, and then I think in the middle rounds Shane Mosley will give Floyd Mayweather something that he's never had to take on before.
Mayweather's previous opponents haven't given him the kind of threat that Shane Mosley presents. Shane has quick feet and quick hands. Zab Judah was the last person to really go after Floyd Mayweather like that, and Zab had Floyd's number early on but couldn't sustain it. Shane is going to win the fight.
I think that if Mosley-Mayweather goes past six or seven rounds, people will see a difference in styles between Mosley and anyone else Mayweather has fought in the past. And with all due respect to Jeff and Roger and Floyd Mayweather Sr., Mosley has a better trainer in Naazim Richardson, the best-kept secret in boxing right now.
Naazim isn't just a trainer, he's a strategist. Naazim breaks down tapes until three or four in the morning, he knows what guys are going to do, and he'll tell me things and I wonder, "How did he see that?"
Naazim is a big piece of that puzzle, why Shane Mosley is going to win that fight.
[Comment From Terrence: ]
Would you mind explaining how spending time in prison affected the rest of your life?
Bernard Hopkins: I need therapy. I say that to be funny but also to be serious. When I say I need therapy, all the things I have, my kids and my wife, all those good things, every day I'm motivated by where I came from and what I came from. There's not a day that goes by, or even two or three minutes, when I don't think about, "I survived that."
People didn't think I was going to survive past age 18, let alone accomplish what I've accomplished in my life. I go back and think to those days when I didn't have fame and fortune -- I go right back to where I came from. I survived that with nothing. So maybe I need therapy because some would say, "That was a long time ago, Bernard." But I can't let it go because if I let it go I might as well retire from boxing because that's the foundation of my psyche.
[Comment From Mitch: ]
Do you like the UFC? How would you do in it?
Bernard Hopkins: I don't like the UFC, at least I don't like people matching it up with boxing. They're two different sports and I don't like it when people compare the UFC and boxing because the UFC is not boxing. Those guys are fighting like a street fight, although I know they train very hard and there's a strategy to it. But I just don't like it when they try to compare that to the sweet science of boxing. I respect what they do, but boxing is totally the opposite from the UFC and MMA. They're just totally opposites.
[Comment From Porfi Porfi: ]
My question is : Which victory of yours do you consider the most significant in your boxing career.?
Bernard Hopkins: I could name at least three: Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Kelly Pavlik. I'd also throw one more in there, Antonio Tarver.
I mention those fights because those are all fights where people had totally written me off as an underdog. People thought I was going to get knocked out by Kelly Pavlik and they used that as part of the promotion. I won those fights even though I was a 4-1 or 5-1 underdog.
[Comment From Guest: ]
Do you have anything to say to those who think you fight dirty?
Bernard Hopkins: Welcome to boxing.
[Comment From Jakey_beeee]
Who is P4P king Manny Pacquiao or Mayweather ?
Bernard Hopkins: Pacquiao. I think when Mosley beats Mayweather, that will be a better fight than Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. I think Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is being pushed because they could make a lot of money with it. But I think the more competitive fight is Mayweather vs. Mosley. I'm answering this fight more as a fighter than a businessman because I really like the style of the fight of Mayweather vs. Mosley.
Mosley comes forward and throws punches and will make it an exciting fight. Mosley is getting his shot by default -- not because they wanted it -- but I think at the end of the day this will be a more competitive fight and the money was really the only driving issue to make Pacquiao fight Floyd but at the end of the day the right thing happened for Floyd and Shane.
That's it for now. I'd like to invite everyone to watch our fight on pay-per-view, to watch two legends square off in the ring, for a once-in-a-lifetime situation. Watch an extraordinary event on Saturday, April 3.
DETROIT — The much-anticipated fight between Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell took place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on March 27. The undefeated Armenian from Berlin, Germany was facing Michigan-native Dirrell.
To the credit of Armenians in Detroit we must say their show of support was tremendous. They were joined by a contingent of Armenians all the way from Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto.
The huge arena was alive with the Armenia tri color. Dirrell’s local fans were equally enthusiastic but also intimidating. Had the outcome of the match been different, many Armenians, and some of the referees would not come out alive, despite tight security.
Abraham had won 31 matches, 25 with knockout and no losses. He played a very ethical game, knowing full well the intention of the hostile media and the fans.
Dirrell was more athletic and he was able to avoid Abraham’s punishing punches — that is until the 11th round, when he was exhausted and was running around the ring like a scared rabbit.
Finally, Abraham cornered him and he was knocked down almost unconscious, when Abraham reached one for his finishing blow, while he was falling down. That was considered a penalty and he was disqualified.
Dirrell was taken to the hospital disoriented and doctors announced that he was being tested for brain damage. Though Dirrell was declared the “winner” of the match, Arthur Abraham is still a hero!
(Note: 337 articles appeared in the media on the fight, most biased against the “European.” This article aims to be more objective.)
FORMER choirboy turned ‘Quiet Man’ John Ruiz is adamant David Haye will not have a prayer on Saturday in their world title showdown.
Britain’s new world champion haye might find comfort in the fact he will be facing a former choirboy in Manchester, but Ruiz insists he is no angel.
Ruiz, whose self-effacing demeanour has earned him heavyweight boxing’s least threatening sobriquet, ‘The Quiet Man’, admits he is not exactly eye of the tiger outside the ring, more sleeping pussy cat.
“I live my life properly and I am very respectful of my elders and everybody I ever meet,” he said. “Would I have put the Klitschko brothers decapitated on a T-shirt like David Haye did? No, I would not. That’s just not me. If Haye wants to do that, fine. But that isn’t me. It’s just hype. I was a choirboy when I was a kid and my mum, Gladys, brought me and my brothers up to be good kids, who watched their mouths and behaved themselves.
“My mum would fight with anybody. She is that kind of person. I am like her in the ring, but out of it I’m a dad and I want to set an example to my family.”
Boston-raised Puerto Rican Ruiz is hoping to create a slice of boxing history by joining Evander Holyfield and Muhammad Ali in winning the world heavyweight title three times should he prevail over WBA champion Haye at the sold-out MEN Arena.
Ruiz might not belong in the same breath as those two legendary fighters, but the facts speak for themselves – Haye is in for a tough evening.
Ruiz has seen off plenty of high-class opponents, including Holyfield, Andrew Golota, James Toney and Jameel McCline. He put Holyfield on the seat of his pants, something Lennox Lewis could not do in 24 rounds.
But the suspicion remains that, at 38, and with three losses in his past six fights – two of which were against Nikolay Valuev, whom Haye beat last year – Ruiz is shop-worn. He counters this by pointing to his durability, the record showing that he was last sparked out 14 years ago when a peak-form David Tua finished him off inside a round. “I can take a shot all right, but can David Haye?” asked Ruiz.
“Anybody can go down in the heavyweight division. It only takes one punch. Look at Lennox Lewis. He was the best heavyweight of his era and he got finished early by Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman. If I catch Haye right he will go down, believe me.”
That was about as threatening as Ruiz gets, but don’t be fooled. He hasn’t travelled over from Las Vegas to get a taste for the Manchester weather. “Of course I am here to win,” he said. “I have done it before. I have been there before. Haye hasn’t.”
Asked if he was impressed by Haye’s display against Russian Valuev, which left the 7ft Valuev punching fresh Nuremburg air all night six months ago, Ruiz admits he was. “David Haye fought a great fight against Valuev. He worked out a strategy and executed it perfectly. But would I rather be fighting Haye or Valuev? Haye every time.
“Haye has fast hands and he is good on his feet, but so am I. My hand speed has been enough to knock out a lot of good fighters.”
Ruiz’s CV points to one conclusion, that when he steps up to the higher level he is often found wanting. Not only have Tua and Valuev beaten him, but also Roy Jones jnr, Ruslan Chagaev and Holyfield.
That record of defeats looks set to be extended, and Haye should prevail. But the last thing a fighter loses is his dig, so Ruiz has a puncher’s chance. He said: “I have won when everyone said I would lose. My best is good enough.”
Haye against Ruiz is live and exclusive on Sky Box Office. Call 08442 410 888 to order. ‘Ruiz could match Ali’s third title’
Hey, boxing fans. Disappointed with the current condition of your sport? You aren’t alone.
Larry Holmes, a former world WBC and IBF heavyweight champion who attended the 37th annual Sports Night festivities in Hornell Saturday, discussed the state of boxing and its recent decline in popularity. His explanation, however, goes well beyond the sport’s inability to attract new fans or hold tight to the die-hards. Instead, Holmes points to boxing’s desire to expand with the creation of numerous “leagues” and federations. He said the United States’ inability to produce a heavyweight champ in recent years hasn’t helped either.
“I don’t like the way it is, I don’t like the way it looks,” Holmes said. “We don’t have an American heavyweight champion and that’s unheard of. We got guys coming into the sport from anywhere and becoming heavyweight champion of the world. American athletes, American fighters are better than that. But the downside to it is that these guys aren’t dedicated to the ring. They’re mainly just in it for the money and that can’t be the only reason to be in this sport. That’s why we have a lot of foreign champions now.
“There are two reasons why the sport isn’t as popular as it was. First, the average fan is tired of paying all that big money,” Holmes continued. “You’ve got Ultimate Fighting which is basically free sometimes and they’d rather watch that than somebody who is not going to represent. Only a few guys right now are representing boxing in a true light — Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley — guys like that. There aren’t too many and they aren’t in the heavyweight division, they’re in the lighter weights.
The heavyweight division? Gone.
“I just hope all the fans keep tuning in. This is the sport that made me, and it’s a great sport. Right now it’s on the downlow, but it’s going to come back.”
Holmes believes Pacquiao and Mayweather will one day get together in the ring. The winner? ESPN’s ninth most underrated athlete, who finished with a career record of 69-6, including 44 by way of knockout, believes Mayweather would have a decisive advantage.
“I would definitely watch it,” Holmes said. “I like Pacquiao and I would hope for him to win, but I think Mayweather would have the edge on him because he’s a boxer — he doesn’t stand still, you’ve got to find him. It would be a great fight, but I’ve got to stick with Mayweather to win the fight.”
Holmes has had his share of great fights, and great opponents. In 1980, he met up with the legendary Muhammad Ali, who was returning to the ring in an attempt to win the heavyweight title for an unprecedented fourth time. Ali appeared to be in great shape but was on medication for a wrongly diagnosed thyroid condition and was unable to recover his former skills or stamina. Holmes dominated the match and Angelo Dundee retired his fighter in 10th round, giving Holmes a win by TKO — the only nondecision loss of Ali’s career.
“Ali was a guy that was known and loved around the world. Not only that, but he was my friend,” Holmes said. “It was hard to get in the ring with a guy who had helped me out and given me an opportunity to grow. It was hard to fight. But for the money, for the title and to be recognized as one of the great fighters, you did what you had to. And that’s what I did.
“I haven’t seen Ali in two years. That was the last time that I was up to his house in Michigan and we had a great time together,” Holmes went on. “He wasn’t really well, but he was relaxed and he remembered me. We did a lot of talking and had a lot of fun.
“He’s a great guy, who will always be loved by me, and I know he will be loved by many. He’s made a lot of people happy during his lifetime.”
Other memorable matches came against Ken Norton, Gerry Cooney, Leon Spinks, George Foreman and Mike Tyson to list a few.
“I got a lot of great memories with a lot of the guys,” Holmes said. “There are a lot of good things out there with those fighters that I fought. They were all great guys, who never forgot where they came from and they all remembered to give something back. That’s the way that I like it. After all these years we’ve all come together to celebrate those days. We get together and talk a lot of junk, but it’s great, man. Those guys are great to be around, we all have a lot of fun together.”
In the early 1970s Holmes’ career began as a sparring partner to Ali, but his career gained notoriety in 1978 when he upset Earnie Shavers to earn a WBC title shot against Norton. The 15-round bout was eventually awarded to Holmes based on a 2-1 judges’ decision. After 14 rounds the match was squarely even according to the panel.
“I was always athletically inclined. I never thought I’d be a boxer though,” Holmes said. “I did some boxing early, but I tried anything really — I played football, basketball, baseball — like any typical, normal kid would. When I dropped out of school I had no where to turn, but I still loved sports. With boxing, I didn’t need to have an education and I eventually met a guy by the name of Ernie Butler, who introduced me to boxing and the rest is really history.”
It is not surprising that John Ruiz, a former altar boy who grew up in awe of his Latino mother's temper, is happy to be known as The Quiet Man. What few expected when he hit Manchester with whispering dignity today were revelations of sublimated anger. At 38 he sounded like a man who might have had his fill of the business.
Under dull skies that reminded him of his childhood in a tight-knit Puerto Rican community 30 miles from Boston he made the ritual noises about dragging David Haye into the trenches to take away his shiny new WBA heavyweight belt, a bauble Ruiz has owned twice and will contest for the 12th time on Saturday night.
He last saw it disappear from view when Nikolai Valuev outpointed him for the second time in 2008. Neither decision in Germany, the home of doubt, was conclusive. They were setbacks obvious enough to make the calmest soul fume. "I got cheated," Ruiz said. "Maybe enough is enough. Maybe I should have retired. But it happened. I got another opportunity. And thank goodness I'm not fighting Valuev. I'm fighting David Haye."
Haye is Ruiz's polar opposite, a one-time Bermondsey boy scout, a reformed playboy who has developed megaphone tendencies in striving to pump life and cash into a moribund heavyweight scene.
Ruiz knows about Haye's infamous wind-up of Wladimir Klitschko, the severed head tee-shirts. He says he will not fall for similar shenanigans. Haye is not so sure. "It's a little tasteless," Ruiz said, "but it's his style. I would never do it. I've heard it all, I've seen it all. I've been in the sport such a long time I can't let something like that bother me. Anger's been part of my life. But I control it. Come fight time, I go out there and unleash it. That's what boxing is about.
"My stepfather introduced me to boxing. I never knew what it was. I put on the gloves and then, I don't know … I think it comes from my mother. She's a fighter, basically. And she has a hot temper, let's put it that way. If you get in her face, she'll get back at you. She doesn't care who it is, man, woman, whatever."
Yet, for all his seeming reluctance to let boxing or verbose opponents beat him down, he struggles to hide the rage against unfairness. His mother, Gladys MartÃnez Morales, took multiple low-paid jobs to keep the family together. "She raised us on her own," Ruiz said, "did the best she could. That's what makes her special. She kept fighting, did whatever she could to put food on the table, worked the fish market, all sorts of jobs. At the same time she disciplined us, gave us pride, making sure I didn't forget my Puerto Rican heritage.
"I do enjoy fighting but there are times when, I don't know, maybe it's just the anger inside me. I'm still here, but I'm looking forward to moving on, being with my family. I got a three-year-old now. At the same time, I still have a little fire in me.
"Boxing is a business. If I did a little more talking back then, I would probably have been a billionaire by now. Who knows? But that's who I am. I don't want to change. I'm just here to fight. I try to bring some pride, some honour, to the sport. We were raised Catholic. I was an altar boy. She made sure we stayed on the right path."
It's a path that has covered 54 fights, against quality fighters, including a knockout defeat by David Tua 14 years ago, and leads now to Haye and a seething MEN Arena on Saturday night.
They are curious dancing partners, the altar boy and the boy scout.
"Last time, against Valuev, luck was with him," Ruiz said, slipping back into boxing mindset. "This time, he's got a fight on his hands."
Yet he was once 'the choir boy’, an altar boy raised with his three siblings by a single mother in Massachusetts. Ruiz insisted his Spartan upbringing led to an anger inside him which has seen him impervious to age in the division.
David Haye aims to address that at the MEN Arena with rugged youth and dangerous speed. Ruiz, 38, possesses a ring resume which reads like a Who’s Who of heavyweights – good, bad and indifferent – from the last fifteen years.
Among them, Evander Holyfield (three meetings – win, lose, draw), Nikolai Valuev (twice – both losses), James Toney, Hasim Rahman – one of only two rivals to beat Lennox Lewis – and Roy Jones Jnr. Champions all.
Yet the stifling style employed by Ruiz has enabled the canny character to survive against top-class opposition, ten of whom have been world champions. This is his eleventh world title contest.
But frank revelations came from Ruiz as he admitted that his enduring fighting spirit comes from his mother, Gladys Martinez Morales, “a lady but a fighter” who held down three jobs to raise her young Puerto Rican family with dignity. Yet the family’s treatment in the US left Ruiz with an anger he uses even today.
“My mother did what she could to put food on the table, worked in the fish market, held down three jobs, raised us on her own, and had a fighting spirit.
"She taught us discipline and gave us pride and made us special,” said Ruiz after a workout on Wednesday. He looked lean, and will come into the ring at around 225lbs.
“Anger has been a part of my life, stuff that has happened in my life, I control it and come fight time I go out there and unleash it,” he said.
Ruiz, who has a 44-8-1 record, but has lost three of his last six contests, has held the WBA crown twice. Two of those last three bouts were against 7ft Russian man-mountain Valuev.
Both of those contests, were lost, marginally, on points. Haye, once the undisputed world cruiserweight champion, has had only three heavyweight contests.
David Haye v John Ruiz is live in HD on Sky Box Office on Saturday night
