Ruiz In Retrospect...

Well Nikolay Valuev has finally freed us of the clutches of John Ruiz.
Will John decide to retire ? We'll see. Rumor has it that Valuev is going
to defend against fringe contender Owen Beck instead of giving John a
rematch. In a lot of these cases money talks and bullshit walks. If John
does decide to retire here is a little retrospect on his career. No John was
far from exciting. He gave a new meaning to the phrase "Winning Ugly".
But...He won.
He was a major player in the heavyweight picture for a long time. He beat
a lot of fighters that on paper he should have lost to. Holyfield, Kirk
Johnson, Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golota come to mind.
What I am leading up to is that John made the most out of his raw ability
and his gameness. Yes he was out boxed by Roy Jones Jr. and out foxed by a
possibly " juiced " James Toney. Throw the Tua debacle out the window. If
John Ruiz had nothing else, he had balls !
The job of a manager is to make the most money he can for his fighter by
matching his man with other men he feels can be beaten. The manager's job is
to manuver his charge up through the ratings at a minimal risk. If his boxer
is fortunate enough to gain a high ranking and secure a title shot, then the
manager has done well.
If the fighter is fortunate enough to actually win a title then it is up
to the manager to try and keep his charge as champion for as long as
possible by matching him with boxers that are competetive enough to secure a
decent payday. The trick here is not to overmatch your boxer unless the
payday is just too much to pass up.
I don't know for sure how much control Norman "Stoney' Stone had in the
overall making of John's matches, but I'm sure his voice was heard. I know
Mr. Stone is not the most popular man with the press, etc...Still you have
to give him his do. By all accounts John Ruiz should retire a very wealthy
man. Add to that the fact that he was never matched with Lennox Lewis.
John is a lucky man. "Stoney" did his job well.