By James Slater – For some time now, there has been talk of a ring return planned by 1990’s heavyweight star Donovan “Razor” Ruddock. The Canadian powerhouse himself stated that he would be returning to the ring, even appearing on a video (which wound up on You Tube), looking to be in shape and as ready to fight as he could be at age 48. But then nothing happened – which, fans felt, was maybe for the best..
But Ruddock seems determined to fight again, and the latest word is that the man who once rumbled with Mike Tyson (twice), Lennox Lewis and Tommy Morrison, is weighing around 215-pounds and is aiming at winning back the Canadian heavyweight belt.
As is almost always the case when an ageing, former champ or contender sets off on a trip down the road back, Ruddock says he is “Stronger and faster” now, and that he is “In the best shape of my life.” Razor, who last boxed in 2001 (a win over Egerton Marcus, to capture the Canadian strap) went further, stating that he now realises he “wasn’t in shape when fighting Tyson.”
Speaking with The Toronto Star, Ruddock, 38-5-1(29) says he wants his old title back first, before moving on to something bigger.
“I didn’t lose it, I just left it,” Razor said of the Canadian belt. “I’m looking for a fight like yesterday. I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because I want to do it. If I go in there and I lose one fight, by any means, then I realise I’m off, I’m wrong and I’m going to give it a walk. This is a dangerous sport and I’m putting 100-percent into it.”
Ruddock says he is “disappointed” by today’s heavyweight division, and he is aiming to become the oldest ever champ, adding “panache and punching power” to the weight class as he does so. Ruddock is still looking for licence approval, as well as for a comeback foe and a date, yet he has his eyes on a fight with Neven Pajkic (“Sadly for him, he’s wearing the belt I want,” Razor said of his countryman).
Personally, I’ll be surprised if Ruddock gets that far, much less as far as he is ultimately aiming: “I’ll be putting Tyson Fury, Chris Arreola, Dereck Chisora, David Haye, Bermain Stiverne, Seth Mitchell, and Tomasz Adamek on the exact same pudding diet too.”
And then: “After I feast on the appetizers, I’ll dive in for two helpings of Chicken Kiev. The older brother (Vitali) avoided me 11 years ago, and now he has to pay. The younger one (Wladimir) just bores me. I’ll have to knock him out also.”
How delusional is Ruddock, who is also embroiled in a legal wrangling regarding the “Smash” Trash compactor he invented some years back? He does look to have shed the pounds, at least judging by the photos that are out there on the net, but has Razor even sparred any decent rounds yet?
Ruddock’s name still rings a bell with the fans, yet the one-time star’s past glories came a long, long time ago.