John Ruiz

At 52 years old, John Ruiz has this physical status:

Professional career

His professional record is 44–9–1–1, with 69 knockouts. He retired after his second loss of the WBA title on April 30, 2005 (to James "Lights-Out" Toney), frustrated by years of skepticism from the boxing press and fans. After discovering that James Toney had tested positive for anabolic steroids, Ruiz went unemployed in ten days. The official outcome, a unanimous-decision loss, was converted to a no-contest; the WBA ordered Ruiz to keep the title. Ruiz then filed a lawsuit against Toney, alleging that Ruiz' boxing career had been harmed by Toney's use of illegal steroids before their match.

Nikolai Valuev lost his title for the first time — in a tumultuous manner. Ruiz lost a rematch with Valuev for the vacant WBA Heavyweight title on August 30, 2008, in a tumultuous fashion.

Lewis, Lennox Lewis, defeated Evander Holyfield in late 1999 for the undisputed (WBA, WBC, and IBF) heavyweight crown, but Lewis refused. Despite being undefeated since losing in his 1st round 19 second defeat to David Tua in 1996, Ruiz's level of competition was suspicious, and the only one he had defeated (to date) was a nearly 40-year-old Tony Tucker.

Ruiz and his company filed a lawsuit alleging that WBA rules granted him a championship shot. A judge agreed, but Lewis rather than face Ruiz in a bout seen as commercially unattractive, he instead defeated Michael Grant, who was seen as a very credible candidate at the time, having knocked out a line of identified "name" opponents on HBO. Lewis would forfeit the WBA title immediately after learning of this.

On August 12, 2000, Ruiz battled former champion Holyfield to fill the vacancy, losing by unanimous decision (this made Holyfield the first to win a world heavyweight title on four occasions). Many commentators and boxing reporters believed Ruiz had done enough to win.

The WBA ordered an immediate rematch in early 2001, and Ruiz captured the WBA title due to this contentious decision. Some commentators have remained skeptic (Ruiz was on the ground for a few minutes after Holyfield appeared to give a weak blow to the groin). Footage from the game showed that the punch may have been legal, but that it wasn't contestable.

Ruiz defended the title twice: a tumultuous draw in a third match against Holyfield, where the press predicted victory for Holyfield and a disqualification victory over Kirk Johnson, where the Canadian hopeful was disqualified for repeated low blows in the tenth round. Ruiz was charged with both the second Holyfield brawl and the Johnson faking low blows that actually seemed to be closer to his waistline than his groin (although Johnson was portrayed on replays to bring Ruiz below the belt several times).

Ruiz was signed to wrestle Roy Jones Jr., who at the time was the Ring light heavyweight champion. If Jones were to defeat Ruiz in the fight, he'd join Bob Fitzsimmons, Michael Spinks, and Michael Moorer as the only three fighters to win light heavyweight and heavyweight titles, as well as becoming the first fighter (Fitzsimmons being the first) to win world championships at both middleweight and heavyweight. Ruiz, who said referee Jay Nady "wouldn't let me fight my war," lost a unanimous decision to Jones and dropped into the WBA's contender pool.

Ruiz, on the other hand, would get another shot before 2003 was over. As champion Jones, he was due to meet Vitali Klitschko, the WBA's top contender. Neither the Jones nor the Klitschko camps were able to commit to a fight by a set deadline, so Jones became a champion-in-recess. Klitschko, on the other hand, did not want to face the #2 contender, former WBC, IBF, and lineal champion Hasim Rahman for the interim championship. Since David Tua, the third contender, had already dropped out on the fight against Rahman, Ruiz, the #5 contender and the only one interested in the fight, he decided to accept. He defeated Rahman on December 13, 2003, and became the WBA's interim champion after winning unanimous consensus. When Jones announced on February 24, 2004, that he would return to action in the light heavyweight division, the WBA took the interim tag off Ruiz, making him the first two-time WBA heavyweight champion.

Ruiz's first defense of his second world title took place on April 17, 2004. Fres Oquendo's ninth-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden kept it alive. This match was historic in that it was the first time two Hispanics/Latinos met each other for a unique form of world heavyweight title.

Ruiz stayed the belt with a tumultuous unanimous decision over Polish-American Andrzej Goota (a.k.a., "Andrew") on November 13, a one-point deduction by referee Randy Neumann. The Main Event of Don King's Night of Heavyweights card was Ruiz vs. Golota, the 120,000 Pay-Per-View purchases were the largest event of the Night of Heavyweights card, with 120,000 Pay-Per-View purchases.

Ruiz lost by a unanimous vote in Madison Square Garden on April 30, 2005, marking the second time Ruiz defeated a former middleweight champion. However, after Toney failed the post-match drug test (for stanozolol, anabolic steroid), the New York Athletic Commission banned him from boxing in the United States for 90 days and fined him $10,000 (U.S.). The WBA has barred the aging (then 36 years old) Toney from competing for its heavyweight title for the next two years. Toney's victory was changed to a "no contest"—basically, a nullification. Ruiz came out of retirement before it was discovered that Toney would be suspended and he would be reinstated as champion.

Ruiz won the WBA Championship in Berlin, standing at 7 foot tall, 324-lb. Nikolai Valuev, a Russian, is a student at the University of Nikolai Valuev. The official decision was a majority decision (scored 114–116, 113–116, and 114–114), but it was also a contentious one. Ruiz was confident that his jab/combination-punch technique had won him a decisive victory. He demanded that his promoter, Don King, schedule a rematch with the now-first Russian world heavyweight champion. Norman Stone, Ruiz's long-serving boss, has announced that they would officially petition the WBA: after all, the 10,000 German spectators booed when the decision was announced. The Germans booed because they too felt the result was unjustified, according to Ruiz's camp. Wilfried Sauerland, the manager who saved Valuev's career from anonymity two years earlier, angrily denied that the fans booed because Stone's in-ring behaviour had angered them.

In September 2006, Ruiz declared that Sauerland would be the one to rule. Norman Stone, his former boss, died on December 22, 2005, saying that the decision in losing Valuev was the right one and that Ruiz would continue to help Ruiz after retirement.

Don King said he intends to continue promoting Ruiz after the loss. After winning by KO over former IBF champion Tony Tucker in 1998, King was alerted of Ruiz. Ruiz fought back from Value loss by losing to Valuev with a contest against up-and-coming contender Ruslan Chagaev. Chagaev won a close match, with scores of 117–111 and 112 for Chagaev and 115–114 for Ruiz, and 115–114 for Ruiz. Chagaev defeated Valuev, the WBA heavyweight champion, who lost on April 14, 2007, defeating him on April 14, 2007, a crucial challenger for a shot at the WBA Heavyweight Championship.

Ruiz defeated Otis Tisdale on October 13, 2007, and the game came to a close end in the second round as referee Pete Podgorski called a halt to the match for the third time. The match was slated for ten rounds. Ruiz defeated Jameel McCline in Mexico in a 12-round unanimous decision on March 8, 2008.

Valuev defeated Ruiz by a unanimous vote on August 30, 2008. Scores were 114–113, 116–113, and 116–111. Valuev's decision was initially declared a split decision win. Ruiz's 114–113 score was announced in favor of Ruiz by ringside judge Takeshi Shimakawa. After his score was supposed for Valuev, Shimakawa alerted WBA officials. The names of the fighters were in reverse order, resulting in confusion.

The call was unpopular with the live audience as some booed the result, much like the first match in December 2005.

Ruiz was chosen as the WBA's key challenger to face Chagaev-Valuev II in 2009 after petitioning the WBA to protest the outcome of his tumultuous match with Valuev. Ruiz stepped down as the bout was called off, meaning that Valuev could face Cruiserweight Champion David Haye. Ruiz stopped Adnan Serin in 7 rounds in the undercard to that match. Ruiz, who was weighing 226 pounds (his lightest since 2001), dominated his overmatched foe to keep his coveted challenge to the WBA belt intact. Valuv then lost a majority vote to David Haye, ensuring Ruiz would now face Haye for the WBA championship after Haye recovered from a hand injury. The M.E.N. combat took place on April 3, 2010. Ruiz's Arena in Manchester lost by TKO after his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round after suffering four knockdowns in the previous rounds. Ruiz, whose face was smocked in blood, could not cope with Haye's increased speed and strength.

Ruiz resigned after an 18-year boxing career, following his injury to David Haye. He opened Quietman Sports Gym in Medford, Massachusetts, in 2013, offering both boxing and MMA (mixed martial arts) instruction to students of all ages. Although all ages are welcome, the Greater Boston area is focused on providing a solution for at-risk children and adolescents. He has also stated that he wants to return to boxing as either a boss or a mentor at some point. Ruiz was ranked No. 83 on the website "The 100 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time" in 2014.

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