John Ruiz vs. Kirk Johnson

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Challenger rankings
Org. Pos. As of Published
1+ Mth. Old
WBA 1 28.02.2002 05.03.2002
WBC N/A N/A N/A
IBF N/A N/A N/A
WBO N/A N/A N/A
Ring N/A N/A N/A
2+ Mth. Old
WBA 1 31.01.2002 05.02.2002
WBC N/A N/A N/A
IBF N/A N/A N/A
WBO N/A N/A N/A
Ring N/A N/A N/A
3+ Mth. Old
WBA 1 31.12.2001 09.01.2002
WBC N/A N/A N/A
IBF N/A N/A N/A
WBO N/A N/A N/A
Ring N/A N/A N/A

John Ruiz 233 lbs beat Kirk Johnson 238 lbs by DQ at 2:17 in round 10 of 12

Notes

  • Deal done on April 26.[1]
  • Ruiz was a 2-1 underdog.
  • The WBA rated Johnson as the No. 1 heavyweight contender.
  • The fight was televised live on HBO.
  • Harold Lederman, HBO's unofficial judge, had Johnson ahead 85-84 when he was disqualified.
  • According to CompuBox, Ruiz landed 96 of 204 punches (47 percent), and Johnson connected on 100 of 386 (26 percent).
  • Michael Katz called the bout "one of the ugliest heavyweight title fights in history." He reported the following in the July 29, 2002, edition of the New York Times:
Early in the opening round, Referee Joe Cortez deducted the first of 2 points from Johnson for low blows. More warnings followed.
In the fourth round, Johnson interrupted the wrestling with another low blow. Cortez did not take a point this time, but gave Ruiz time to regain his breath. As he stood in a neutral corner waiting, Johnson was told by one of his co-managers, Chris Seeger: "Stop throwing body punches. They're going to take this fight from us."
Johnson nodded in agreement. The only other smudge on his 32-1-1 record is a 10-round draw in 1998 with Al Cole, a former cruiserweight champion, when 3 points were deducted for low blows.
But before he could worry about that, Ruiz, the first Hispanic to win a heavyweight title, went on the attack, forcing Johnson into the ropes and repeatedly head-butting him.
Johnson, after Seeger's advice, used his superior foot speed to avoid Ruiz for the next two rounds, winning them on all three official cards. (Ruiz ended up ahead by 1 point on two, and by 3 on the other.)
But in the seventh, Johnson said: "I grew impatient. I knew I could knock him out with a body shot." He landed another hook low, to Ruiz's right leg, and lost another point.
Johnson won the eighth round, but in the ninth ran into a Ruiz right hand. He grabbed Ruiz, who threw him to the canvas. No knockdown, Cortez ruled. Johnson tried tackling Ruiz low, taking a knee -- which should have meant a knockdown, Johnson later agreed -- and was dropped by another right hand, but just after the bell.
Then, at 2 minutes 27 seconds of the 10th round, Johnson, almost mercifully, landed another low blow and it was over.
Johnson had no complaint about Cortez's call. "I've seen him on television; he's a very fair official," he said. "You've got rules to follow. If you break the rules, you lose. I broke a couple of rules. I lost."

Article


Preceded by:
Ruiz vs. Holyfield III 		WBA Heavyweight Title Fight
# 76 		Succeeded by:
Ruiz vs. Jones


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