Razor Ruddock, where did it all go wrong?

Why is it assumed something went wrong?


There's not a shred of evidence to suggest anything other than his career played out according to his talent level. He was big, and had big power. Not much else. He was at the world class level but just couldn't quite get over the hump. It's a familiar story.

Larry Merchant (boxing celebrity of the week, apparently) said once, "I don't trust the potential of a fighter whose reputation is built off a loss." This of course meant Tyson. Those are good words.

 

Sorry, i can't put a link in for some reason bud.

It's on youtube under;

Ringside : Lennox Lewis Special 2/3

He mentions Ruddock around 8.50. :thumbsup

 

Thanks bro. I'll check it out.:good

 

No probs.:good

 

First thing is, Ruddock had all the skills in the world, Just like Tyson, he flushed all that down the loo and start relying on his power. Realistically he should have beat Tyson, he had all the skills Douglas did.

Secondly going 19 rounds with Mike Tyson beating the crap out of you will take something out of you. Hence why Lewis did him in 2 rounds

Thirdly. Ruddock was around at the wrong time. He had a comeback Tyson, Newcomers in Lewis and Bowe, Mercer and Morrison and he had HW Champ Holyfield. He was pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place

 

i think he relied too much on punching power and the one punch ko. for example when he was fighting tyson (one and two) he kept going for the one punch, even when he landed a powerfull shot that hurt tyson he woudnt follow up with a combo but would just wait for the next 1 powerfull shot he could get in a few minutes down the line

 

I think the Tyson fights took some of the Iron out of him,plus he refused to utilise the boxing skills he showed in the gym. Floyd Patterson worked with him and said he showed a great jab, but went left smash happy when actually in a fight,Floyd finally lost patience with him and, left his camp.

 

Ruddock was unlucky to be at his best when he was. Up until the Tyson fights the only real name on his resume was Dokes. Just when he should have been hitting his best he has two monumental wars with Tyson and is obliterated by Lewis.

 

you did kno that chuvalo was working with razor for a while,calling himthe fastest heavy he had seen since ali.but as george put it ruddock listen to no body,and i think that ended the partnership

 

Bonecrusher Smith was a good win, despite his numerical record. Smith was a former WBC titlist, who had obliterated Witherspoon with his devastating power to earn his title, making him the only man to stop a non-shot Spoon.

 

Ruddock was already regressing when he fought Tyson.
He neglected skills and relied on his power.
Ruddock wasn't really impressive against Tyson. He showed remarkable heart, toughness and good durability, but it was just mindless slugging for the most part. One punch at a time.
Ruddock had the physical tools and ability to do something along the lines of Douglas, but he didn't even attempt to.

Yeah, he was a solid number 3 going in to 1991, behind Holyfield and Tyson.
But I wasn't one of those people who thought him getting hammered twice by a sloppy version of Tyson really should enhance his credibility.

 

This is where I'm usually at when they start this with these types. Ruddock, Cleveland Williams, Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Jimmy Young, David Tua, Golota, all went where they were supposed to go, did what their attributes allowed them to do, mental and physical. And since they had some damn good moments, there's certainly nothing wrong with that, that makes their turnout a big shame. ...Although, I'm probably guilty of throwing that down on somebody, here and there, myself, so, eh. :conf

 

Bonecrusher was a solid win for Tyson, though easily the worst of his title opponents by a good margin.

Not so much for Ruddock. Smith was maybe 15 lbs overweight, inactive for a year, out of the rankings, and out of the picture. Bonecrusher was in the McCline role we see today, dude can hit but really is a stepping stone to bigger things. Instead, Ruddock stupidly traded with the big lug, got dropped, and was rocked several times before finally overwhelming a gassed Smith that was nothing more than a punching bag.

But than again Power PUncher says this fight demonstrated Ruddock's underrated skills and handspeed...I guess its an ok win.

Dokes win isn't all that either. He still had his ranking but was 20 lbs overweight with an offensive gut come fight night. But to his credit, Ruddock at least this time treated a fat former contender like he was a fat former contender, and nearly killed him in the early rounds though Dokes had some good moments and he even rocked Razor.

 

thumbsup:thumbsup

 

those two guys are other fighter who i often said to myself "damn WTF happened?"