I guess the Lewis defeat was kind of demoralizing, to say the least. Ruddock went from being the hottest heavyweight on the scene to a has-been in under 2 rounds. He got crushed, his reputation got crushed. (He was a bit of a hype job anyway, IMO)
He was maybe a nut job, but Ruddock's hype was well-deserved, imo. In any event, I agree that the crushing loss to Lewis was a contributing factor. I may be getting my timelines a bit mixed up, but wasn't he also involved in a contractual dispute that went to court around that time, or was that earlier?
No doubt the Lewis loss was very demoralizing. It's one thing to lose, it's another to lose so quickly and decisively. No idea about a contract dispute. I do know that, after this loss, his brother Delroy had been wanting to get into the restaurant business and Donovan joined him in the organisation and planning. Anyone else remember "Razor's Palace"? It was a nightclub & restaurant at Fort Lauderdale in 1993. It folded just two or three years later, costing Ruddock $1m. Also in 1993, Ruddock tried to get fights with Holyfield (who said he'd consider it if a Bowe rematch didn't happen - of course it did) and Jessie Ferguson after his upset of Ray Mercer. Fergsuon, wisely, went for the money and the title shot against Bowe instead. Ruddock finally returned to the ring for that Jan '94 UD10 against Anthony Wade. He won almost every round but looking sluggish, though no wonder after that long layoff. He was due to have a fight against Olian Alexander in July '94 but had to cancel it because Ruddock needed surgery on his right foot, no idea what happened there but that was the reason given. And then after that, it was into 1995 and that fight against Morrison in June.
Well, getting off the deck to stop Bonecrusher and then the especially CHILLING KO of Mike Dokes did warrant the hype. But the way two losses to Mike Tyson somehow ENHANCED his reputation and status was ridiculous, IMO. I never understood that. People were still saying he's the best heavyweight in the world, but he had looked rather limited against a sloppy Tyson - and never actually looked like winning against Tyson, who had already been beaten by Douglas. I guess it was linked to the fact that they hyped Tyson to the max., and totally underrated the champion Holyfield, and dismissed Bowe, Lewis, Mercer etc. as too young, unproven and raw. Since (according to the media) Tyson would KO all of them easily - Holyfield, Bowe, Mercer, Lewis, Douglas, anyone, then surely (according to the media) Ruddock must be some sort of near-invincible Godzilla in his own right.
With Tyson retired, it also added to Ruddock's aura. If Iron Mike had still been active in the division it wouldn't have been on the same level, but without him Ruddock was the 'heir apparent' as the next best thing.
Morrison fought Ruddock at the right time. I remember when the fight was signed I started thinking that maybe Ruddock should have had a few tune-up fights first. A prime Razor Ruddock would have been awfully rough on Morrison I believe. Heck, the one that DID fight Morrison was awfully rough on Morrison.
Ruddock changed so damned much over the course of his career, it's scary. When he dismantled Bonecrusher Smith the "smash" was there along with everything else. Good movement, a very nice jab, he sat down on his punches when he had to, he held on beautifully, showed heart getting up from a nasty early knockdown... He just abandoned so much of it later on.
Used to be a stick 'n' move guy, until he changed it around the time of the Jaco loss and Weaver win. Like so many boxers he idolised Ali and wanted to copy his style.