26.02.04 – By Jim Amato: Well now it’s official, John Ruiz is again the heavyweight champion of the world according to the W.B.A. How many boxing fans will take this seriously ? How many took John’s claim to the title seriously during his first reign as King ? Did anyone really feel that he could have defeated Lennox Lewis?
Lewis is gone now and the heavyweight division is begining to re-shape itself. Chris Byrd is still the I.B.F. titleholder by virtue of a gift decision over the talented Fres Oquendo. Now Oquendo will challenge Ruiz for the W.B.A. title on April 17. Maybe more importantly to Ruiz and Oquendo, this fight will be for the Hispanic championship.
Ruiz was the first Hispanic to gain recognition as a world champion. Will Oquendo be the next ? Fres should be the I.B.F. titleholder right now. Nevertheless his strong showing against Byrd propelled him into the Ruiz match. Can he win the title from Ruiz ?
On paper Oquendo looks to be the better boxer but don’t count John Ruiz out. This could be a career defining bout for Ruiz. John has been the Rodney Dangerfield of the heavyweight division. Even during his first tenure as champion he got “no respect”. Sure he came out on top after the snorefest trilogy with Holyfield. It did not matter. Holyfield was old and Ruiz was just in the right place at the right time.
Then came the highly touted Kirk Johnson who would surely dethrone this “pretender”. Yet Ruiz turned back Johnson’s challenge. Forget the DQ, Ruiz was outfighting Kirk and John deserved to win.
Then came John’s loss to Roy Jones Jr. I scored it ten rounds to two for Jones. It was that lopsided. I felt John was through as a prime time contender. I thought the W.B.A. eliminator with Hassim Rahman would be a nice final payday and swan song for John. Guess what ? Ruiz outhussles a lethargic Rahman and he’s back in the mix. Sure John won ugly but as Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis tells his players. “Just win baby, just win”, and that is what John does.
It will be interesting to see how Ruiz is regarded by the experts ten or twenty years from now. Will he receive his just due or will he be regarded as a “cheese champion”, a footnote to the reign of Lennox Lewis ? How he fares against Oquendo will go a long way in determining John’s place in history.
If I was betting with my head I would pick Oquendo. He’s a pretty slick boxer who is rather mobile for a man his size. He packs a decent wallop and appears to have a fairly good set of whiskers. Being kayoed by David Tua who is the hardest one punch hitter in the division should not be held against Fres. Tua is the Earnie Shavers of this era. John Ruiz can attest to that.
If I was betting with my heart I would pick Ruiz. Why ? Say what you want about Ruiz he has proven that he has a champion’s heart. His tenacity has seen him through some tough bouts. It may just work in his favor again this time.
I see Oquendo jumping out to an early lead by outboxing the slower moving Ruiz. I then see John coming on in the middle rounds with an inspired body attack. If Oquendo gets lazy which he is prone to do on occasion, it could be disasterous. The inside is John’s homefield advantage. It is where he can steal the fight.
To me it all depends on which Fres Oquendo shows up. We know John Ruiz. What you see is what you get. No frills, he just wins.