Let’s make this a 10-rounder in a neutral setting (maybe Vegas or Las Angeles). Snipes is awkward, tricky and has a good jab plus a sneaky right hand. He’s also pretty durable and good at (a) making an ugly fight, as well as (b) being very comfortable in same. Ruddock is more explosive but also more one-dimensional, overly reliant on that smash half-hook/half-uppercut. But it was a dangerous weapon. The matchup popped into my head after scanning the Snipes documentary posted by @heerko koois — I’ll need to roll it over in my mind a bit to make a pick, but my early inclination is that Renaldo survives a few early scares and then outworks Razor to nip a close decision … subject to change.
I fancy Ruddock would bundle Snipes out of there. Snipes had a lot of energy and heart but he wasn't that hard to hit and I suspect Razor would make his power edge count.
Looking into it a bit, I favor Snipes more than before (but still not a huge margin). Renaldo was only stopped twice in his career, both times on his feet: vs. Holmes, the best heavyweight in the world at the time, and by Jorge Luis Gonzalez in the final round of the final fight of a 15-year career (he was battered and also put down in the 10th but it was stopped because his eyes had swelled shut). He was put down a number of times but almost always shook it off and bounced back to take it to his guy. As for Ruddock, he definitely had power in that left but he was also largely a one-handed fighter reliant on his smash ‘hookercut.’ Closer scrutiny of his record reveals that while he had some spectacular KOs, he only has a few really quality opponents that he stopped: Dokes was certainly competitive and still viable but was also coming off major drug problems that went on for years and took a lot out of him; Bonecrusher hadn’t won a fight in like 2 1/2 years (going 0-2-1 over that stretch) and Greg Page was washed up (and quit on his stool but wasn’t knocked down). In short, a KO win for Razor over a prime Snipes would be arguably his best or second best of his entire career. And Snipes wasn’t easily stopped. So I see it going one of two ways: Ruddock gets a couple of knockdowns which give him enough edge on the scorecards to win a decision, or Snipes outworks him for a decision whether he has to get off the canvas or not. And he certainly has enough pop in his right hand to keep Donovan honest.
Both of these guys had tons of potential and could've achieved much more if they were more dedicated to perfecting their craft- And they were also both motormouths who showed poor sportsmanship inside and outside of the ring on multiple accounts. Snipes shoved referee Richard Green (Yes, that same Richard Green from Mancini - Kim and Holmes - Ali) during his match with Greg Page, and Donovan threw an uppercut that knocked down Kimmuel Odum during a break (I'm surprised that he didn't get disqualified for this account). I feel like Snipes would really frustrate Ruddock and floor him once or twice with that sledgehammer right of his on way to a unanimous decision. Renaldo could be very good when on the mark, he beat Berbick, should've gotten the nod against Witherspoon, had tight fights with Holmes and Page, and was pretty damn good when focused on winning.
