Donovan "Razor" Ruddock...get it straight

I think Ruddock's career can basically be chalked up to the fact that he fought the right names at the right time, and was marketed in such a way that he came off as being better than he really was.. He never beat a truly solid fighter who was prime, and even the men who defeated him weren't at their best.... Lewis was still a work progress, while Tyson was never the same after Rooney was fired and losing to Douglas... Donoven was decent, but without all the angles that his manager used to get him into the spot light he would have been perhaps a #7 or #8 guy at best in most eras...

 

Yes, he was. But George was not the first guy to manage him and he'd been thru a few guys prior to Chuvalo coming aboard. And he went thru a ton more after Chuvalo. Same thing with assorted trainers. The only guy that ever stayed on as part of his team was his brother Denton.

 

Can't really even say that he accomplished more then Tommy Morrison, he never beat a fighter as good as comeback Foreman. Morrison also beat him when Tommy was quite far gone himself.

 

He didn't accomplish more than Morrison. But folks always absolutely love--and overrate--those if only type guys and especially with heavyweights.

A huge drawback for Morrison was that the guy had a ton of major surgeries. That's a major reason why the guy was washed up so early & had a ton of miles on the odometer by the time he was 27.

 

I just watched Ruddock/Page. Page took an horrendous beating in that fight and was seconds away from getting the Dokes treatment.

Say what you like about Donovan Ruddock, he was a big dude with skills, power, and fast hands, he just refused to use a jab and a right cross consistently...if he had...he would have at least won a strap.

 

That goes without saying, Briscoe.

Despite his obvious missed opportunities, the man still had a career as a Heavyweight contender and he still got in the ring with Mike Tyson twice, and lasted the distance the second time...so if he's not going to get credit for being a great fighter, he can at least be credited as being a tough dude with a big heart. There's been plenty of fighters, good fighters, throughout recent history who didn't possess those qualities.

 

I have a lot of admiration for Donovan Ruddock. He faced some of the biggest punchers of his time, and when he got knocked down, he almost always got back up...even when he had no business to. Like the Morrison hook. Not many would have got up from that.

 

I think as a result of Ruddock's superior toughness, I'd credit him as being a harder fighter to beat than Tommy. It's true, Morrison lasted longer than Razor did against Lennox Lewis, but that doesn't really count for a great deal in my estimation. How many rounds do you think Morrison would have lasted against Tyson? ....Exactly.

Ruddock was a good puncher, had a good left hook which he could throw from an assortment of angles, and he had a good chin with "great" powers of recovery. It's great we got people saying nice things about Tommy, but we don't have to put down Ruddock in the process.

 

Just what multiple angles did Ruddock throw left hooks from?

Way on the outside and dip to the side and drop the hand lower and launch. He had to plant those feet first & didn't have the balance to do anything not flat footed.

 

What da?

 

Put it this way: Ruddock in today's title climate would almost certainly be eligible to win "the big one", even with nothing but the Smash. Not from either Klitschko - but from Haye. Or Valuev. Any recent WBA titlist dating back a decade, really.

Oh wow, what a sweet fight Ruddock-Chagaev would be.

 

He'd throw a normal left hook to the head in addition to his smash which was more of a half hook, half uppercut. He also threw hooks to the body. That's three different angles from my count, and if you need gifs to demonstrate him throwing them that can be arranged also. Is it outstanding? Not really, but he didn't just have the one shot in his arsenal, he also threw the odd right hand lead and...early on his career, the jab was a potent weapon. It's not like he was a big lump with no technique who'd throw the odd power shot that if landed would end things.