Donovan Ruddock vs Mike Tyson II

This was an outstanding fight. Mike Tyson really demonstrated how much of a granite jaw he possessed by eating so many left hooks and uppercuts from a big powerful puncher like Donovan Ruddock. In reality, Mike Tyson was the clear winner as he did just a little bit more work and the knockdowns sure made a difference. That said, Tyson should have been disqualified with the amount of low blows he committed, but Mills Lane just decided to take points instead making it a very close fight on my card. Ruddock showed the world that he was a very game fighter, and can take a lot of leather. Tyson showed he wasn't the Tyson of old, but his chin was made of granite. Superb fight.

1 - 10-9 Tyson
2 - 10-8 Tyson - Knockdown!
3 - 10-9 Ruddock
4 - 9-8 Tyson - Knockdown, point deduction!
5 - 10-9 Tyson
6 - 10-9 Tyson
7 - 10-9 Ruddock
8 - 10-8 Tyson - Point deduction!
9 - 10-8 Ruddock - Point deduction!
0 - 10-8 Ruddock - Point deduction!
11 - 10-9 Tyson
12 - 10-9 Ruddock

112 - 110 Tyson

 

Let's see your scorecard.

I scored it round by round, and like I said, Tyson won the fight pretty clearly but he had three point deductions, and two of the rounds he had lost anyway. That's a big shift in points, and there's only about one round that I gave to Ruddock I could consider giving to Tyson and that's round 10. Which would have been 9-9 anyhow.

I had it 7-5 in rounds. The knockdowns were void because of the point deductions later on causing two 10-8 rounds.

 

Absolutely. Every time he threw the lead right hand it landed, but he barely threw it. He was always looking for the counter left uppercut, and although it did land and would have knocked most fighters out, Tyson was blessed with an unbelievable beard. Tyson won the fight clearly, but it didn't stop it from being a great action fight. Both fighters were landing bombs in nearly every round, you didn't know if Tyson would get knocked out or Ruddock. It just makes todays Heavyweight climate all the more painful to endure.

 

No doubt Tyson won but we have to remember he had three different point deductions in the fight, and one round in which he was clearly winning he thrown away by getting caught several times and getting stunned. I didn't think I was being generous to either fighter with a two point difference, the fact is, Tyson should have been disqualified but I'm glad Mills Lane didn't go down that root. It gave us a great fight.

 

Ruddock showed incredible will and bravery to see out there 12 rounds, and I gave him 4 of the last 6. Two of them being 10-8 rounds on account of Tyson hitting repeatedly low despite previous warnings. As I say, Tyson would have gotten disqualified if he wasn't such an important figure in the sport of Boxing. Ruddock buzzed Tyson on a few occasions, but how he stood up to some of the shots later in the fight...I will never know. Both fighters took punishment, Ruddock more so, and I argue that neither fighter was the same.

 

Ruddock sustained such a horrendous beating in this fight, it shouldn't be hard to grasp for anyone to see how it would effect his performances after it. Mike Tyson landed bombs on Ruddock, and as we all know, when that usually happens the fight is over more often than not. Ruddock walked through fire, and gave Tyson his best stuff. It was a spirited effort, and every time Tyson would hit on the break, Ruddock would retaliate. This fight alone squashes the myth that all you needed to do was stand up to Tyson - Ruddock did that in abundance and still lost.

I wish we had seen Ruddock vs Bowe, Holyfield, and Mercer. I'm not sure I favor Ruddock in any of those fights, Bowe is one of my favorite Heavyweights also, but they would all be very intriguing match-ups. Holyfield got hit a lot against Dokes and Cooper, Ruddock was a better fighter than either of those in my judgment. Mercer would probably walk through all of Ruddock's heavily artillery, and Bowe would outclass him. Still wish Ruddock would have gotten more fights though.

 

Some people understandably might think I was trying to make this fight out to be closer than it was because I'm sporting a shrine for Razor. Not true. Without the point deductions, it would have been pretty lopsided on my scorecard too. I could see Tyson getting an 8-4 victory, but then you factor in the three point deductions and it tightens up still. Nobody is making a case for a Ruddock victory, just giving credit where it's due - to both men. Tyson proved that he could dig deep and he still had something left, whereas Ruddock proved he had a huge heart and great recovery powers. The 1990's was a great time for Heavyweights, I feel.