George Foreman(1991) vs. Razor Ruddock(1991)

Why do so many people make the assumption that Ruddock was "ruined" by the Tyson fights? Is it because they can't fathom the idea of a Tyson opponent being beaten by Lewis in much easier fashion? Ruddock was in his late 20's, in phenomenal physical shape, and easily dispatching the men who were placed in front of him, post-Tyson... He was heavily favored to beat Lewis, and become the next champion.. There were no such reports nor even speculation at the time, that he was looking any different after his Tyson meetings. This notion of Ruddock being a lesser fighter after facing Mike, seems to have been developed by internet boxing posters in very recent years.

As for Lewis being less experienced, I don't think it says much. He finished 1991 with an 18-0 record and had beaten the undefeated Gary Mason, to go along with medaling in two olympics. He was less than a full year away from dispatching Ruddock in two rounds. I seriously doubt that he'd benefit much from the matches that he had in early 1992, against journeyman like Billups, Williams or Dixon.

 

If you go 19 rounds with Mike Tyson beating the **** out of you, i highly doubt your going to be the same after.

Ruddock has the distinction of taking probably the biggest ass whooping from Mike Tyson, at least the others went to sleep after a couple of rounds

 

-No more a monster than downward spiraling former contenders Dokes, Weaver, and Smith.

-I believe that was my point, Lefthook. However, Ruddock walked into punishment early in both fights as he was prone to doing..one fighter simply had the better tools for finishing the job.

 

:thumbsup

:thumbsup

atschread teh 2 posts above - MINE And Mr.maggoo's.

They proof Ruddock was not damaged by Mikey-T.

I ask 1 more time - why would a little bit of swelling on teh face ruin a big heavywieght??? :rofl:rofl

+Ruddock trainined Xremely Hard for Lennox - he was in way, way BETTER And Lighter shape then in teh Tyson rematch.

Facts are Lennox punches a ****ing lot harder then Tyson And Ruddock was not-able to clinch like a ***** VS teh bigger, Better-infighter And much, much stronger Lennox.

 

Yes :thumbsup IMO Philly-J was Always BETTER then Dokey, Weavy And Smithy - And Ruddock beat SHOT OLD versions of them ppl.

:thumbsup Ruddock was scared cos he tried to clinch Lennox And couldnt + Even young Llennox a way Harder-Puncher, way Stronger, BIGGER/Heavier And much better Finisher then prime Tyson.

 

If u read my post i didnt say Ruddock was ruined i said if you take a 19 round beating from a hard puncher, you will not be the same after. I highly doubt Ruddock had the same punch resistance he did after the Tyson bouts and Lennox is no feather fist either. On top obviously Lennox had a totally different style to Tyson and not to mention he was bigger as well.
Im not going to argue that Lennox punches harder than Tyson, he probably did.
Tyson and Lewis also had quite alot of mutual opponents

But Tysons Ko highlight reel seems better than Lennox's

:hat

 

I would question that.

Tyson would have stopped Ruddock the same way had Steele not stepped in just a bit later.
As you said though all fights are different based on styles, but I wouldnt say Tyson was better equipped to finish Frank Bruno than Lewis was for example. The simple fact is both Lewis and Tyson were superior fighters.

 

Steele is one crafty MoFo.

 

Or Ruddock himself:

Since he Retired in 2001 when asked about his Boxing career he stated his fights with Tyson took everything out of him and believed they also finished Tyson insisting both he and Tyson were never the same after those fights.

 

Or he may very well have been fronting an excuse as to why he fell so quickly against a man who he was supposed to pummel. How much decline Ruddock experienced as a result of his encounters with Tyson is unknown, but at the time he fought Lennox Lewis in 1992 ( not in a 2001 interview, years after the fact, ) he appeared quite confident that he was not only going to beat Lewis, but be the next champ...

 

Xpert post m8 :thumbsup

No ****ing way in ****ing hell a little bit of swelling on teh face damage a BIG strong Heavy.


Foreman Hoooooooook! :hat

 

No one is giving Tyson credit.

Ruddock threw a sloppy body jab at Lewis and got caught clean with a 2 punch counter.

In his past fights he'd throw that jab many times and was sharp enough to move away from any possible counters.

That's the difference between a pre-Tyson Ruddock and a post Tyson Ruddock.

Regards,

Anh

 

Regardless whether Tyson had anything to do with it or not, Ruddock was not the same boxer as he was in his 89-91 fights.

That's my 2 pence.

Regards,

Anh

 

Ruddock didnt seem to recoop as well from knockdowns post Tyson. He stayed hurt through the minute rest and into the second round against Lewis. He also froze pretty badly after getting flattened by Morrison.

 

Which fights were those? The one where he was nearly KO'd in round two by a 36 year old Smith, who was off for a full year, took the fight on short notice and hadn't beaten anyone since 1986? Or was it the way that he dispatched mediocre journeyman in Odum and Rouse that mesmerized you? A post-Rooney Tyson was never exactly the same either, but he managed to beat Ruddock convincingly enough. At the time, I gave Razor real props for his one punch knockout of Dokes, but one good performance against a past prime opponent, isn't very convincing that this guy would have turned the tables from losing in two rounds to completely winning a fight, especially when that fight happened just two years later. Ruddock may have lost a step as a result of his encounters with Tyson, but some here are trying to create a case for him being totally shot against Lewis, and frankly I think its a circular argument designed to benefit Tyson more so than Ruddock himself.