Razor Ruddock vs Shannon Briggs

I'd like to read any info you have on Ruddock's preparation fot the fight, for interest's sake if nothing else. I heard he had managerial problems...but rarely is a fighter's world perfect. Ruddock was beaten fair and square, imo.

Regarding Tyson's 'help' in destroying Ruddock...well, maybe. Generally wear and tear manifests itself later in a fight though, unless a fighter is shot.
Ruddock got caught with a great right hand near the end of the first and never recovered, basically.
Ruddock seemed confident and no slower or weaker than in previous fights...so while I do feel there is logic to a degree about Tyson taking something out of Ruddock, Lewis caught him so early that it's hard to draw any meaningful conclusion.

Regarding what Donovan said...I read from two independant sources that he words were along the lines of: "So, we meet again...I have waited for this for a long time..." or words to those effect anyway.

One thing I'll say about Ruddock is that he really was one of the few who would fight anyone, anywhere. He called out Tyson for years, called out Holyfield and Bowe and eagerly took the Lewis fight - not the behaviour of a wimp.
Granted, Lewis didn't have the reputation he would later have, but still...

 

Tell you what though mate, the version of Lewis that beat Ruddock on that night was fantastic. For my money better than the version that beat Briggs. I still in many ways, rank that Ruddock fight as his best performance.

 

Fair enough... It was afterall a spectacular feat and one that shocked any and every fan.

 

A case can certainly be made for a fighter like Ruddock declining after the Tyson fights and it really has nothing to do with degrading Lewis' win, but more with the physical brutality and punishment Ruddock took.
Riddick Bowe was substantially depleted from his wars with Evander Holyfield, a much weaker puncher than Mike Tyson. Meldrick Taylor was never the same after his war with Chavez. Fernando Vargas was never the same from the shalacking he took from Felix Trinidad. Could Ricardo Mayora ever realistically outbox Vargas at his best, never, yet like Bowe he had to hangem up early.
I will say Lewis landed a beautiful right that Ruddock never really recovered from, but Ruddock's overall intensity and sharpness as compared to the Tyson fights was not there, and that was also one of the main reasons Ruddock was able to hang in there with Tyson and absorb all that punishment.

 

I'll have a scout about tomorrow morning my man, as I say i'm busy tonight, so that's the earliest i'll get back to my computer.

Thanks for the info about what he said dude, sounds pretty foreboding and imposing! any links to the sources?

Damn right on that last point, Ruddock was full of bravery and courage, without sounding macho he truly was a man in that respect.

 

Briggs was not a bad fighter. Very fast hands, decent jab, and of course lots of power. He just had horrible stamina and was done after the first few rounds. While the left that rocked Lewis was eye catching he boxed pretty good behind his jab in that fight before gassing so pitifully. Ruddock was prone to right hands as mentioned and could end up on the canvas early. Not sure why Razor is being hyped as a superman on these boards as of late, a tough fringe contender and not much else to it.

 

I remember Tyson hit Ruddock with a righthand in the first fight and he looked like a flag flapping in the wind. He never went down, but it was a hell of a shot. He showed a lot of determination in those two fights.

 

Of course if Ruddock can survive the early Brigg's flurries like Wilson, he can pull off a stoppage. This fight is the defiintion of a toss up.

 

Thats why I say first four rounds pickem, and then it quickly starts leaning in Ruddocks favor.

 

Ruddock often went down hard in the early rounds but I'm amazed at his ability to recover from the most brutal knockdowns.

Watch his fight against Bonecrusher Smith for example. I think this would be a similar type of a fight with Briggs having success early, possibly having Ruddock down, and Ruddock coming back to stop Briggs after he tires.

 

On the difference between Ruddock vs. Lewis and Ruddock vs. Tyson, I think it had a lot to do with the fact that Tyson was a come-forward fighter, whereas Ruddock had to go looking for Lewis. Morrison basically won against Ruddock (despite a bad chin and despite Ruddock learning a few new moves for that fight) because Ruddock switched off when he was walking after an opponent. Razor's defence was never stellar, but on the front foot it was atrocious.

If Briggs can move and counter, I give him a good chance in this fight. Ruddock's chin wasn't granite, although it wasn't bad either. However, more likely, I think Briggs would gas at some point, while Razor- who also had poor stamina but who was better at pacing himself- would take advantage and stop Briggs with some monster shots in the middle rounds.

 

Your point about Ruddock vs Tyson is a good one, but Lewis was also coming forward, but not to the extent Tyson was. All you have to do is watch the intensity within the first three minutes of each fight, including the referee's instructions and you will see a much more intense and sharp Razor Ruddock.