Who do you see this matchup unfolding, over 12 rounds at their respective best? Will 'the Smash' finds it's mark and end matters early, or can Norton pull through?
Hard to say. Mike Tyson has consistently named Ruddock as the hardest puncher he ever faced... And that'd be saying something among the Lennox's and Bruno's on his resume. Have to wonder if Norton's chin could hold up to a power puncher of that magnitude.
Agreed for all of Tyson's faults he never seemed to give unecessary credit to fighters to suit his purpose. His post fight interviews are a also telling. He made many references to Ruddock's punching power after thier first fight citing "Wheee he punches like a f-cking mule kick excuse my french.." After the Lennox fight he praised him calling a masterful boxer big and strong but when Jim Lampely asked Mike if those are the hardest right hands he's ever taken instead of adding on to the list of compliments he replied no "I couldnt see them coming...." He looked pretty coherent after the Lennox fight. Anyways I give Ruddock the edge here big time. His power will simply bail him out of any situation that he's in. If he starts aggressive early on then I envision an early stoppage.
I think Ruddock will KO him. He carries his power for ages and had a fine chin. Norton is a much better fighter but again we have a bad match here for him. It's incredible that he was such a great fighter against boxers yet so vulnerable vs punchers.
I think Ruddock would get to him, yeah, but think Norton might last till the mid rounds. Even at his best Ruddock could be inconsistent within a fight and sometimes indecisive, although he'd get rid of Norton eventually I don't necessarily think it'd be an early blowout. Ruddock had decent stamina and a soid chin (contary to what the Lewis blowout would say) so I think he'd find a way to win this one eventually. Ps: Norton is often sold short in these, despite being a very good fighter, but I'm afraid against big punchers that's the way it is. Justifibly so most of the time.
Exactly. I hate picking some of these one dimensional whackers over him, i really do, but at the end of the day it's hard not to
I initially was going to say Ruddock, but then I started looking at the records. Who'd they beat, who beat them. Norton has the trilogy with Ali and the great fight with Holmes, beat Quarry. I'll say Norton avoids the big punch and gets a decision. I know Ruddock wasn't in Foreman's league and I don't think he was as good as Shavers. I think Norton was used up by the time Cooney got him.
Ruddock was a better fighter than Shavers all the way. Ruddock better than Foreman? A more well rounded fighter, maybe. Overall, not quite.
Ruddock should be able to knock him out at some point, not necessarily early in the fight as Razor wasn't a particularly good combination puncher or a powerful bomber. Ken would come in while Ruddock used his lateral movement. For reference, I think it would go the way of the 1989 showdown between Donovan Ruddock and Bonecrusher Smith minus the early knockdown. Ken, of course, was a great deal better than Smith (and Ruddock) so the possibility of a split series looms large, but for this one fight, I'll predict a stoppage between the 5th and 7th for the Razor.
Yes, Ruddock tended to be quite a slow starter...I would definitely think Norton would be able to throw much more consistantly and would be up on the scorecard by a notable margin, before Ruddock's power would begin to tell. Ruddock had a good jab himself but rarely used t after his change into a power puncher. Despite the jokes, Ruddock wasn't quite a one-armed bandit, his right hit pretty good as well. It's just that he loved that left! This would be a fight I'd pay money to watch, I know that. Ruddock vs Tua would be fun as well!
Norton would have to respect the smash, but that apart, Ruddock is too lazy to compete for 12 rounds with Norton. Ken by easy-ish decision. Norton WU12 (9-3)
