John Ruiz

2019-06-05T19:52:39Z

Nottyboy:

[[File:John Ruiz November 2009.jpg|left|200px]]
<boxer>004655</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Manny Siaca Sr.]], [[Norman Stone]] (1992-2005)<br>
'''Manager:''' [[Norman Stone]] (1992-2005)<br>
'''[[:Category:John Ruiz Gallery|John Ruiz Photo Gallery]]'''

== Amateur Career ==
*Competed as a light heavyweight at the 1991 World Championships in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
**Defeated [[Mohamed Benguesmia]] (Algeria) PTS (22-11)
**Defeated [[Miodrag Radulovic]] (Yugoslavia) RSC-3
**Lost to [[Andrey Kurniavka]] (Soviet Union) PTS (14-20)
*Competed as a light heavyweight at the 1992 [[Olympics|Olympic]] Trials in Worcester, Massachusetts. Result was:
**Lost to [[Jeremy Williams]] PTS (5-0)<BR>

== Professional Career ==
*Often criticized for his fighting style, which consisted of jabbing and clinching. Many considered it to be boring and ugly.
*Knocked out in nineteen seconds by [[David Tua]] on March 15, 1996.
*In his first shot at a world title, Ruiz fought [[Evander Holyfield]] for the vacant [[WBA]] heavyweight title on August 12, 2000 and lost by a controversial unanimous decision. Because of the controversy, the [[WBA]] ordered a rematch.
*Became the first Latino to win a portion of the World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated [[Evander Holyfield]] by a unanimous decision to win the [[WBA]] heavyweight title on March 3, 2001.
*In his first defense of the [[WBA]] heavyweight title, Ruiz fought a draw with [[Evander Holyfield]] on December 15, 2001.
*Lost the [[WBA]] heavyweight title to light heavyweight champion [[Roy Jones Jr.]] by a lopsided unanimous decision on March 1, 2003.
*After [[Roy Jones Jr.]] returned to light heavyweight, Ruiz defeated [[Hasim Rahman]] by a unanimous decision to win the vacant interim [[WBA]] heavyweight title on December 13, 2003. Ruiz was upgraded to full [[WBA]] heavyweight champion in February 2004.
*Lost the [[WBA]] heavyweight title to [[James Toney]] by a unanimous decision on April 30, 2005. However, Toney tested positive for a banned substance, and the result was changed to a [[no contest|no-contest]]. On May 17, 2005, the [[WBA]] restored Ruiz as their heavyweight champion.
*Lost the [[WBA]] heavyweight title by majority decision to [[Nicolay Valuev]] on December 18, 2005.
* Ruiz had over a dozen bouts for different versions of the WBA Heavyweight title and eliminators, winning four of those bouts for the title, One of those for the IBO version of the Heavyweight title and being a title challenger several times.

==Minor & Regional Titles==
*[[WBC]] International Heavyweight Title (1995)
*[[NABF]] Heavyweight Title (1997)
*[[NABA]] Heavyweight Title (1998)
{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Evander Holyfield]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Roy Jones Jr.]]|
years=2001 Mar 3 – 2003 Mar 1
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Roy Jones Jr.]]<br>Vacated|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Nikolay Valuev]]|
years=2004 Feb 20 – 2005 Dec 17
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, John}}
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican World Champions]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:NABA Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican American Boxers]]
[[Category:New England Golden Gloves Champions]]

BoxRec - User contributions [en]

John Ruiz