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THE " ROCK " IN THE RUIZ CORNER
Norman " Stoney " Stone has decided for a number of rumored reasons to
retire from the corner of former WBA heavyweight kingpin John Ruiz. Stone
has been vilified on many occasions throughout his association with Ruiz.
Controversial ? You bet... Entertaining ? Well I guess that comes down to
the "eye of the beholder '" category but " Stoney " was usually good copy.
It all came down to drawing attention to your fighter and as a manager,
Norman had the knack.
Let's face it, John Ruiz is a decent fighter and a decent man. What he
lacks is charisma. Enter Norman Stone. Like him or dislike him. Agree with
him or disagree with him...This guy was a mover and a shaker. In my book
without him, John Ruiz would not be where he is today.
John Ruiz turned pro in 1992. On November 27, 1993 I saw John fight
live in Cleveland. He won a rather boring six round decision over a
journeyman, Carl " Not The Truth " Williams. If you would have told me then
that Ruiz would one day beat Evander Holyfield and be a major player in the
heavyweight division for nearly a decade...I would have laughed in your
face.Hey guess what ? In 1994 he lost a twelve round decision to Danell
Nicholson for the vacant IBO heavyweight title. After reeling off seven wins
he was then crushed in less then a round by the feared David Tua. Could
anyone see Ruiz becoming a champion at this point ?
Ruiz hit the big time in 1998 when he halted former champion Tony "
TNT " Tucker. On August 12, 2000 Ruiz was matched with Evander Holyfield for
the vacant WBA title. John lost a highly debatable decision. It set up a
return match that took place on March 3, 2001. On that night, John Ruiz was
crowned " World Champion ". In December he drew with Evander to retain his
crown. Without a doubt, three of the most boring fights I've ever witnessed
!
Nevertheless as champion Ruiz did not have a bad run. He beat Kirk
Johnson on a DQ. This was a fight that most people saw John losing but I
thought he was getting the better of Johnson up until the stoppage.
Then came his legit loss to a prime time Roy Jones Jr. Lucky for Ruiz
that Jones decided to go back to the light heavyweight division. Next Ruiz "
regains " his title with a well deserved points win over Hasim " Rock "
Rahman. This mat go down as John's best career win.
In 2004 Ruiz halted Fres Oquendo and edged Andrew Golota. In 2005 his
loss on points to James Toney was changed to a " No Contest " because Toney
may have violated the steroid use rules. Ruiz was again re-instated as WBA
champion. Next came the loss to Valuev. Where does Ruiz go next remains to
be seen. He has already expressed his desire for a return engagement.
I'm not quite sure when Norman Stone entered the career of John Ruiz.
At least what I think I see is a manager who did what a manager is supposed
to do. Make as much money for your fighter as you can with the minimal
amount of risk. In my opinion " Stoney " did that. He did not make foolish
matches for John against Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klitschko. He did not put
him in a unification fight with IBF titleholder Chris Byrd who probably
would have boxed Ruiz silly.
I think " Stoney " helped an under rated yet over achieving John Ruiz
make a whole lotta of money. Give the man his due. He's earned it !
Norman " Stoney " Stone has decided for a number of rumored reasons to
retire from the corner of former WBA heavyweight kingpin John Ruiz. Stone
has been vilified on many occasions throughout his association with Ruiz.
Controversial ? You bet... Entertaining ? Well I guess that comes down to
the "eye of the beholder '" category but " Stoney " was usually good copy.
It all came down to drawing attention to your fighter and as a manager,
Norman had the knack.
Let's face it, John Ruiz is a decent fighter and a decent man. What he
lacks is charisma. Enter Norman Stone. Like him or dislike him. Agree with
him or disagree with him...This guy was a mover and a shaker. In my book
without him, John Ruiz would not be where he is today.
John Ruiz turned pro in 1992. On November 27, 1993 I saw John fight
live in Cleveland. He won a rather boring six round decision over a
journeyman, Carl " Not The Truth " Williams. If you would have told me then
that Ruiz would one day beat Evander Holyfield and be a major player in the
heavyweight division for nearly a decade...I would have laughed in your
face.Hey guess what ? In 1994 he lost a twelve round decision to Danell
Nicholson for the vacant IBO heavyweight title. After reeling off seven wins
he was then crushed in less then a round by the feared David Tua. Could
anyone see Ruiz becoming a champion at this point ?
Ruiz hit the big time in 1998 when he halted former champion Tony "
TNT " Tucker. On August 12, 2000 Ruiz was matched with Evander Holyfield for
the vacant WBA title. John lost a highly debatable decision. It set up a
return match that took place on March 3, 2001. On that night, John Ruiz was
crowned " World Champion ". In December he drew with Evander to retain his
crown. Without a doubt, three of the most boring fights I've ever witnessed
!
Nevertheless as champion Ruiz did not have a bad run. He beat Kirk
Johnson on a DQ. This was a fight that most people saw John losing but I
thought he was getting the better of Johnson up until the stoppage.
Then came his legit loss to a prime time Roy Jones Jr. Lucky for Ruiz
that Jones decided to go back to the light heavyweight division. Next Ruiz "
regains " his title with a well deserved points win over Hasim " Rock "
Rahman. This mat go down as John's best career win.
In 2004 Ruiz halted Fres Oquendo and edged Andrew Golota. In 2005 his
loss on points to James Toney was changed to a " No Contest " because Toney
may have violated the steroid use rules. Ruiz was again re-instated as WBA
champion. Next came the loss to Valuev. Where does Ruiz go next remains to
be seen. He has already expressed his desire for a return engagement.
I'm not quite sure when Norman Stone entered the career of John Ruiz.
At least what I think I see is a manager who did what a manager is supposed
to do. Make as much money for your fighter as you can with the minimal
amount of risk. In my opinion " Stoney " did that. He did not make foolish
matches for John against Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klitschko. He did not put
him in a unification fight with IBF titleholder Chris Byrd who probably
would have boxed Ruiz silly.
I think " Stoney " helped an under rated yet over achieving John Ruiz
make a whole lotta of money. Give the man his due. He's earned it !
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