By Jake Donovan (photo by David Martin Warr)
It was déjà vu all over again in Berlin, Germany, as Nikolai Valuev defeated John Ruiz for the second time in as many tries, both fights taking place at Max Schmelling Halle.
Their December 2005 encounter ended in disputed majority decision for Valuev. It was a unanimous decision this time around, with Valuev stealing a page out of Ruiz’ old playbook by jabbing and clinching his way to victory and, more importantly, back into heavyweight contention.
The pair of former heavyweight titlists both entered the vacant heavyweight alphabet title fight riding a two-bout win streak, both promising to deliver a better performance than in their first fight nearly three years ago.
They delivered – for a few rounds, anyway.
Valuev stuck to the script that worked the first time around, jabbing Ruiz into “Bolivian” whenever the Puerto Rican was within punching range. Ruiz insisted beforehand that he’d offer more movement and force Valuev to fight on his feet a bit more, but that never happened.
What almost happened was an official knockdown, when Ruiz momentarily turned the fight in his favor in the second with a right hand that wobbled the Russian Giant. Valuev went down seconds later, but not before the two tangled up, leading the referee to correctly wave it a slip. Still, it was enough to put Johnny Boy on the scoreboard.
The action in the third would set a trend for at least the next few frames. Valuev consistently landed with his jab, by far his most effective weapon of the night. Ruiz would offer little to nothing for the first two minutes before opening up in the final 30-60 or so seconds, as if a last ditch effort to steal some close rounds.
Not only did it not work, but it would put him in a hole on at least two of the three scorecards, proving to be insurmountable by night’s end.
Valuev continued to fight behind the jab so long as Ruiz allowed him, which didn’t change until the sixth. It was in this round that Ruiz lived up to his pre-fight promise of forcing the action and making Valuev think and fight on his feet.
It was in these moments that Ruiz controlled the tempo and to which his super-sized foe had few answers – only those moments were few and far between. So too, were moments of sustained action once the bout entered the second half.
The middle of the fight developed into the ugly, mauling clinch fest that far too many feared would become the case. Valuev would jab and clinch, while Ruiz was unsuccessful in trying to work on the inside. No luck from the outside either; Ruiz would swing and miss with a haymaker, before stumbling inside, where Valuev could clinch and grind the action to a halt.
Round ten was probably the worst of the fight from a fan’s perspective, but Ruiz’ biggest of the night. The little action offered put the frame on the table for both fighters, but if Ruiz didn’t steal it with a thudding left hook at rounds end, he exited with no worse than 9-9 tie. Valuev shoved Ruiz to the canvas following one of the many clinches, resulting in a crucial point being docked from his score.
The infraction seemed to inspire both fighters, who came out charged for the championship rounds, perhaps convinced that the fight was still on the table. Ruiz was finally able to dial in his right hand from the outside, but to his surprise, Valuev had a response – combination punching. A three-punch salvo nearly floored the Puerto Rican before the two ended the round exchanging right hands.
Valuev appeared to finally seal the deal in the final round, landing the lone significant punches of the round that offered more spirit than accuracy. Ruiz never stopped trying, and to his credit danced as hard as he could to carry the action until the bitter end.
The bout figured to be tough to score, but would be ruled unanimous in the e,d though initially (and wrongly) announced as a split verdict. Ruiz was at first declared a one-point winner, 114-113, on one card, but would be overruled by scores of 116-113 and a seemingly off 116-111, even if the right guy – Valuev – won in the end. It was revealed later that the 114-113 card was actually scored for Valuev, and announced wrong by Michael Buffer.
Having now won three straight, Valuev (now 49-1, 34KO) remains near the top of a heavyweight division that has remained in disarray since Lennox Lewis’ official retirement more than four years ago. With the win, he reclaims the title he lost to Ruslan Chagaev 16 months ago, ending his undefeated streak at 46 fights.
This bout was supposed to be a rematch of their April 2007 match, only for Chagaev to twice postpone due to separate injuries. The second trip to the injury list led camps for Valuev and Ruiz to demand that their own rematch be for a vacant title rather than the interim. Their wishes were obliged, with the condition that a healthy Chagaev gets first dibs at the winner.
Ruiz was hoping to be that man, to avenge yet another defeat in Germany that came ten months after his loss to Valuev. Thirty months ago, he had a legitimate claim of having been robbed in Deutschland; not so much this time around, though no question that some of the rounds were tough to score and ultimately decided the fight.
Still, failing to fight three full minutes of every round was eventually his undoing, though hardly a performance in which to bow his head in shame. The 36-year old falls to 43-8-1 (29KO), but in a heavyweight division where contenders and ex-champions never seem to fall far from the picture, will undoubtedly find himself back in the mix in the near future – not unlike where he stood following their first fight.
The event was promoted by Suaerland Events in association with Don King Productions, and aired live on German broadcasting network ARD.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com