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In a span of less than eight weeks, the prospects for a continued heavyweight rebirth in the post Tyson-Lewis era took two brutal body blows with the abrupt retirement of Vitali Klitschko and the recent twelve round points triumph secured by the new WBA Heavyweight Champion, Nikolay Valuev over the two-time titleholder John Ruiz.
If it wasn't for bad luck the heavyweight division would have no luck at all. With the ascension of Valuev, the retired Klitschko looks like Larry Holmes. Ruiz, a pretender champion on his best night, was muscled around the ring by the Russian giant, seeing an early points advantage wither away.
The decision was suspect, yet the final removal of Ruiz is the one clear benefit gained from the developments of the past two months. With the exception of his success against a long past prime Holyfield, Ruiz was the worst claimant of a portion of the heavyweight championship in ring history. Bar none, Marvin Hart and Leon Pinks notwithstanding, Ruiz was so inept that he would have struggled to occupy a spot in the top twenty 1970 contenders. At least with his size coupled with the slight possibility of an improvement in his ring skills, Valuev may be able to make a successful defense or two before his inevitable defrocking. [details]
If it wasn't for bad luck the heavyweight division would have no luck at all. With the ascension of Valuev, the retired Klitschko looks like Larry Holmes. Ruiz, a pretender champion on his best night, was muscled around the ring by the Russian giant, seeing an early points advantage wither away.
The decision was suspect, yet the final removal of Ruiz is the one clear benefit gained from the developments of the past two months. With the exception of his success against a long past prime Holyfield, Ruiz was the worst claimant of a portion of the heavyweight championship in ring history. Bar none, Marvin Hart and Leon Pinks notwithstanding, Ruiz was so inept that he would have struggled to occupy a spot in the top twenty 1970 contenders. At least with his size coupled with the slight possibility of an improvement in his ring skills, Valuev may be able to make a successful defense or two before his inevitable defrocking. [details]
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