why did so many top fighters struggle with john ruiz?

Good post. The cream does rise to the top in boxing. Ruiz was an awkward herky Jerky fighter that’s not like most have ever faced. He’s more unique than the opponents he faced. Everyone knows what Floyd or Hopkins did in the ring, there’s so much footage. But finding someone who can duplicate it in sparring is hard. It’s like studying for a test and then finding that all the answers you know aren’t on there just one you don’t, and I swear weren’t in the book. Tua nertzed him, but first round KOs aren’t always the best examples. Preparing for an unusual or unique fighter has got to be especially hard. I always think how tough it must be to prepare for someone like Fury or Wilder. It has to be nearly impossible to find a sparring partner even close to their height. And Pacquiao? Who moves like that? Ruiz is put down a lot as a champion. Yeah, I get that he had a boring approach, and that he was relatively weak, but he was still a champion. Out of all the heavyweights that have ever tried, how many were ever crowned? You’ve got to respect that.

I'm not an expert on boxing technique, which is why I'm asking the community to inform me on the technical reason more fighters didn't do this. Roy Jones dominated Ruiz in part because he would frequently throw short uppercuts or hooks after Ruiz's jab, anticipating that Ruiz would lunge forward with a hug. It worked enough times that Ruiz got frustrated and significantly reduced the number of hug attempts compared to previous fights. If the answer to my question is most fighters aren't as fast as Roy Jones and weren't quick enough to execute the tactic, fine. That's why I'm asking. Wasn’t trying to put you down, man. It’s just that it’s easy to point something out, but often much harder to execute. If the pros aren’t doing it, it’s probably because there’s a good reason. Yeah, maybe prime Jones was the only guy quick enough to get away with it. Perhaps you’ve answered your own question.

Lol Always cracks me up when people say, “Just do this,” as if dozens of professional fighters and trainers haven’t thought of it. Practically everything in boxing is easier said than done. And as relatively weak as Ruiz was as a champion, he didn’t get there by accident. Good post. The cream does rise to the top in boxing. Ruiz was an awkward herky Jerky fighter that’s not like most have ever faced. He’s more unique than the opponents he faced. Everyone knows what Floyd or Hopkins did in the ring, there’s so much footage. But finding someone who can duplicate it in sparring is hard. It’s like studying for a test and then finding that all the answers you know aren’t on there just one you don’t, and I swear weren’t in the book. Tua nertzed him, but first round KOs aren’t always the best examples.

Because he held a lot. Dude is probably top 5 all time in illegal holding. Which also make him top 5 all time in most boring fighters.

Oh, now I get it. Your Puerto Rican. No, I'm about as white as white gets. He fought 11 world champions and won 2 world titles. How is that not significant?

Ruiz fought Evander Holyfield three times, Hasim Rahman, Nikolai Valuev twice, Roy Jones Jr, James Toney, David Haye, Tony Tucker, and Ruslan Chagaev. He won the WBA World Heavyweight Title twice. He's also the first person who wasn't either white or black to win a world heavyweight title. That's historically significant no matter which way you look at it. Oh, now I get it. Your Puerto Rican.

Facts. I liked Wald K. Tho because when he wasn’t acting timid which was wayyyy too much imo he had the eraser.

That's a good point. Ruiz did have a good chin. I've been rewatching a ton of his fights lately and his boring style made people overlook how good he was. A thread about John Ruiz is rare enough, but never in a million years would I have expected to see someone say they were rewatching a bunch of John Ruiz fights lol. Ruiz vs golota was actually a good fight...Norman stone’s antics make it a great fight. Definitely hit that one up if you haven’t already.

Lol Always cracks me up when people say, “Just do this,” as if dozens of professional fighters and trainers haven’t thought of it. Practically everything in boxing is easier said than done. And as relatively weak as Ruiz was as a champion, he didn’t get there by accident. I'm not an expert on boxing technique, which is why I'm asking the community to inform me on the technical reason more fighters didn't do this. Roy Jones dominated Ruiz in part because he would frequently throw short uppercuts or hooks after Ruiz's jab, anticipating that Ruiz would lunge forward with a hug. It worked enough times that Ruiz got frustrated and significantly reduced the number of hug attempts compared to previous fights. If the answer to my question is most fighters aren't as fast as Roy Jones and weren't quick enough to execute the tactic, fine. That's why I'm asking.

Lol Always cracks me up when people say, “Just do this,” as if dozens of professional fighters and trainers haven’t thought of it. Practically everything in boxing is easier said than done. And as relatively weak as Ruiz was as a champion, he didn’t get there by accident. Exactly...he was a professional damn fighter, like he never saw an uppercut before.

Historically significant??? No, Holyfield, Lewis, Klitschko, Ali, Frazier are HISTORICALLY significant. Like all of the fighters you listed, John Ruiz won the world heavyweight championship on multiple occasions. For his first world heavyweight championship, he defeated Evander Holyfield. He was also blatantly ducked by Lennox Lewis.

Historically significant??? No, Holyfield, Lewis, Klitschko, Ali, Frazier are HISTORICALLY significant. Ruiz fought Evander Holyfield three times, Hasim Rahman, Nikolai Valuev twice, Roy Jones Jr, James Toney, David Haye, Tony Tucker, and Ruslan Chagaev. He won the WBA World Heavyweight Title twice. He's also the first person who wasn't either white or black to win a world heavyweight title. That's historically significant no matter which way you look at it.

You cared enough to click the thread. You cared enough to reply to the thread. Several others cared enough to click the thread and reply to the thread. If you don't care, feel free to ignore. Why do you care if others are interested? It's been 20 years since we've had an undisputed heavyweight champion and John Ruiz is the reason why. He's historically significant. Historically significant??? No, Holyfield, Lewis, Klitschko, Ali, Frazier are HISTORICALLY significant.

as the likes of Holyfield (3X), Rahman, Valuev (2X), Chagaev, and Jones Jr found out, just because you catch him doesn't mean you're gonna knock him out. That's a good point. Ruiz did have a good chin. I've been rewatching a ton of his fights lately and his boring style made people overlook how good he was.

Who cares................. You cared enough to click the thread. You cared enough to reply to the thread. Several others cared enough to click the thread and reply to the thread. If you don't care, feel free to ignore. Why do you care if others are interested? It's been 20 years since we've had an undisputed heavyweight champion and John Ruiz is the reason why. He's historically significant.

The Evander Holyfield vs John Ruiz Trilogy is underrated. 'Captain Evander Holyfield never stopped warring in his career, even in later stages' Holyfield always went above and beyond the call of duty 'What a fighter INCREDIBLE' That 3rd fight was not a draw.

Obviously it's harder than it sounds to catch him on the chin when he's coming in for the clinch. And as the likes of Holyfield (3X), Rahman, Valuev (2X), Chagaev, and Jones Jr found out, just because you catch him doesn't mean you're gonna knock him out. Tua caught him early and obliterated him, Haye wore down the old man in his final fight for a 9th round TKO. His other 53 opponents failed to stop him. His 30 KO wins should tell you why everybody didn't just wade in there throwing uppercuts. Lol Always cracks me up when people say, “Just do this,” as if dozens of professional fighters and trainers haven’t thought of it. Practically everything in boxing is easier said than done. And as relatively weak as Ruiz was as a champion, he didn’t get there by accident.

Lol I thought you we’re talking about Vlad K for a minute. Wladimir had other weapons though. So it'd be too risky to commit to that uppercut. But Ruiz literally was going to lunge in blindly EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Who cares.................

Obviously it's harder than it sounds to catch him on the chin when he's coming in for the clinch. And as the likes of Holyfield (3X), Rahman, Valuev (2X), Chagaev, and Jones Jr found out, just because you catch him doesn't mean you're gonna knock him out. Tua caught him early and obliterated him, Haye wore down the old man in his final fight for a 9th round TKO. His other 53 opponents failed to stop him. His 30 KO wins should tell you why everybody didn't just wade in there throwing uppercuts.