Ruiz was skilled at faking low blows, excessive clinching, getting decisions he did not deserve, and being beaten by blow up middleweights.
king had golota's contract too and would have preferred golota having the title than ruiz, golota had a bigger fanbase and potentially pleasing style. out of all of ruiz's controversial wins, this was actually pulled out with sheer guts, the likes of which NONE of his detractors would have the balls to pull out in similar circumstances. hate on
Amen. This Quiet Man held his own with the best heavyweights of his era. That alone should merit much more than the typical cream-pie drivel. John Ruiz operated as the greats do. He unabashedly played to his strengths --at the inner boundaries of the rules, if need be-- in order to win. So? Only a fool puts his feet in concrete in the middle of the ring and mindlessly swings away, even if this is suicide or not the best tactic at the moment. It's called generalship: Gene Tunney unabashedly got on his bike and ran after the Long Count; Evander Holyfield unabashedly used his head as a battering ram; old Ali unabashedly used the "jab and grab" to win on points. Like Apollo Creed said, "It doesn't take a man to stand there and get your head beat off." That said, in the end it takes punches landed to win a fight. And Ruiz did the work. Just the microcosm that is the Golota fight is enough to prove to me that "hate" commentary is a lopsidedly distorted view. Rocked and floored, Ruiz came back against his tormentor Golota, punched him into a shell and pulled to even terms with the Pole. I was scoring that fight and gave it to him. So did the judges. To come back successfully from something as horrid as the Tua annihilation shows nothing but balls. The Quiet Man proved himself a successful man in the prize ring --a champion, and that is appreciation enough.
I started to appreciate Ruiz at the twilight of his career. His fights weren't pretty, but I enjoyed some of them. Not because of pure boxing beaty, but real guts. He could trouble every fighter. Very strong in clinches, good stiff jab and quite accurate right hand. Very good chin, stamina and heart. Outhustled most of his rivals and outsmarted them with his rough tactics. He was an expert of throwing another fighter out of rhythm. Avoided no one - respect.
Had he fought in 1906, trained on a velocipede and twirled a mustache, we would be remembering him fondly as a colossus who had Teddy Roosevelt grit, Paul Bunyan strength and the endurance of a Mongolian Ass. And many would comment that he would lick three of today's heavyweights in a single night nourished only on the juices of a roasted beef and three warm ales.
Ruiz is rightly criticised for his questionable tactics, gift decisions and unsportsmanlike behaviour. Even factoring these elements in, he still has a resume that cannot be entirely dismissed.