I've been seeing this guy's name thrown around like he actually has a claim to something. Theoretical matches, rankings, myth, etc, etc. Here's the bottom line, Razor was a stubborn fighter who ignored a boat load of talent for one punch. When I got into boxing, this was one of the first heavyweights that I really got obsessed with. It was that "smash" that he claims to have invented. If you watch all of his fights (the available ones, at least) Ruddock devolves from a potentially talented fighter into a one punch pony. This man had "Bowe-itis" worse than Big Daddy himself! Razor didn't eat himself out of contention, but his laziness and one punch mindset pissed me off. Best example, watch the fight with Greg Page. His one-time trainer, Floyd Patterson, is pleading with him to use a measured boxing approach. Razor would toss a jab or so in the opening seconds, and then switch back over to locking in that punch. That punch holds awesome power, and is great on the highlight reels, but it is foolish to see a boxer be so one dimensional when he's got all the tools to pull it off. I don't know if it's still floating around (on youtube), but Razor sparred with Larry Holmes and showed some real skill and stiff punches. Sharp punctuating 1-2s with a sharp jab and sharper right were thrown that with the correct amount of training Razor could have been insanely dangerous and on par to set up a punch like "the smash". You guys see a dangerous puncher, I see a contender that couldn't do the job when it came to his biggest opportunities. Imagine if he had his jab-straight honed in for Tyson. That could have been the best nullifying factor, but it never happened. Ruddock wasn't that sophisticated as a boxer and he was too damn lazy to apply himself to that area of the boxing trade.
Style?!??!?! Throwing punches (and whiffing or glancing) till you land one isn't stylish by a long shot. It's foolish. Shameful to the science of boxing. He had no style, just one punch.
Typical of guys with a lot of power. Lennox Lewis was headed down that same path until Steward saved him. Tyson, Bowe, all became mindless headhunters.
Well he had two punches, and uppercut and a hook, thats about it, but he did develop more of a counterpunchers mentality late in his career.
I didn't say he'd beat Valuev or anything, Briscoe. Calm down. Rudduck wasn't always like that, that I remember either. He used to box, like Valuev. A poor man's Valuev. Which is a rich man by any standards.
I agree. Skill-wise, he looks really poor against Tyson, even though he was impressive in taking the punishment that he did. Absorbing punches, occasionally throwing an unorthodox uppercut, clinching and repeating doesn't constitute as boxing. At one point he was actually a fair boxer who threw jabs and combinations but he wasn't as strong and durable then. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luv8CShRSmc[/ame]
I never said the guy was pure horse ****, and I did recognize the fact the he used to have boxing ability (Holmes/Ruddock sparring vid). His later career he comes across as a catcher/power "counterpuncher". To watch somebody openly eschew their talent pisses me off. People are treating him like he deserved a shot, but if you knew a little more about the guy he was a total waste of time.
Curious to find out who you thought was more deserving of a title shot during Ruddock's heyday besides Bowe, Lewis and Holy? Ruddock was the strongest and most imposing fighter out there at the time of the Big 4... just because he squandered his chance for greatness by not applying skills to his game does not disguise the fact that with the Smash alone, Ruddock was a beast during his run.
and he got his chance against tyson, and blew it. hate on the alphabet champs all you want, but botha, moorer, chagaev, haye, rahman, maskaev, peter, etc etc all capitalized upon their chance, whether earned or not. ruddock didn't capitalize on his chance to get a chance.
Hard to believe that when he fought Mike Weaver he played the boxer to Weaver's punching. In any event, I remember reading some of his early interviews for KO magazine or Boxing 89, and even back then he was something of a egotistical basket case, talking about how he was blessed with talent from god (or something like that) and he was destined to be the champ. I remember the reporter asking him about when he ran away from home as a kid, and since he didn't like the question, he just didin't say anything at all. Weird.