John Ruiz: Quiet Ways of Winning.

A John Ruiz fight may be boring, uneventful, slow and a straight out way to help you fall asleep on the couch while watching. You can change the channel, laugh at his “Quiet Man” stance and take his self-assured statements of destroying his opponent lightly. It’s John Ruiz’ way and it’s a successful formula towards earning a win. Ruiz is not the only fighter to add boredom and a slow pace to a boxing match. Bernard Hopkins is famous for it, but Hopkins is also famous for being the king of the middleweights. As for John Ruiz, well, it’s just for the boredom. Displaying a record of 41-5-1 (28 KOs), Ruiz is not some fly-by-night, gain a lot of weight, close my eyes, lace up some gloves and call me a heavyweight. To his credit, he did partake in three fights with a little over his prime Evander Holyfield; even winning one. He also fought and won against Kirk Johnson, which was comical, but, still a win. Ruiz was a part of boxing history, while taking a loss from fighting Roy Jones Jr. What if he would have landed the punch that Antonio Tarver landed; would Ruiz’ whole acceptance from the boxing community be overwhelming? Just a thought to ponder.

When Ruiz and Hasim Rahman squared off in the ring, it proved to be another boxing sleeping pill, nevertheless, Ruiz earned the win. The Fres Qquendo fight was nowhere near a fight of the year nominee. When I first learned of Ruiz fighting Andrew Golota, I gently smiled and nodded my head. My thoughts at the time were zero, as I had no idea who would win this fight between two unentertaining heavyweights. Add another win to Ruiz’ record and the destiny of making a statement in the heavyweight division may become reality.

In James Toney, Ruiz is up against an opponent that could end his career, as the public and boxing media combined are strong-willed on pushing Ruiz out of the heavyweight contending circle. I have nothing against Ruiz and respect him as a boxer for accepting the challenges and giving it his all. He has no history of sharing a slugfest that the boxing community as a whole are looking for, but he gives his best effort. I think some people need to take into account the mentality of Ruiz and his inner perception and the outer perception the boxing community holds. Ruiz’ inner thoughts may consist of him really believing he is doing the right things to make him a winner.

He may beat to his own drum sound in his own private parade, but no matter how you rearrange his way of earning a title, he holds an official world championship belt. The outer perception is the boxing community calling him a boring fighter and a champion by way of Don King Productions. One thing about the boxing community is that they are forgiving for your past, if you give them a present of a great fight or an awesome knockout. I have James Toney coming out the winner in this fight. For my part, I hold no surprise clause, which amounts to me not changing my mind if Ruiz, who has made indications of giving Toney a beating, comes out the winner; a winner with that complex, boring, unentertaining boxing style. If you’re a winner, you’re a winner. It’s that simple, and a page from Ruiz’ game plan.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com