Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz II

Last updated
The Last Word
Holyfield vs Ruiz 2.jpg
DateMarch 3, 2001
Venue Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line WBA heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Evander Holyfield John Ruiz
Nickname The Real Deal The Quietman
Hometown Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.
Purse $5,000,000 $1,500,000
Pre-fight record 37–4–1 (25 KO) 36–4 (27 KO)
Age 38 years, 4 months 29 years, 1 month
Height6 ft 2+12 in (189 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg) 227 lb (103 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
2-division undisputed world champion
WBA
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Ruiz wins via 12-round unanimous decision (114–111, 115–111, 116–110)

Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz II, billed as The Last Word, was a professional boxing match contested on March 3, 2001 for the WBA heavyweight championship. [1]

Contents

Background

After his controversial victory over Ruiz the previous August the WBA ordered new Heavyweight Champion Holyfield to make his first defence of his title a rematch against Ruiz.

Holyfield, a 2 to 1 favourite, admitted his performance in the first fight wasn't good enough saying "I was kind of embarrassed by that performance. Watching it later, I said 'I'm better than this."'. [2]

The fight

In the tenth round following several uneventful ones, Holyfield pressed Ruiz and scored a plethora of good hits; however, he halted his own momentum when he threw a low blow. The punch to the crotch caused Ruiz to double over, and he was given a few minutes to recover after a point was deducted from Holyfield. When the bout resumed, an apparently still angry Ruiz exchanged some blows with Holyfield before throwing his own low blows, causing him to be deducted a point as well.

Going into the eleventh round, both boxers had bruising and swelling, but Ruiz seemed the more hurt of the two and had also been cut. The eleventh would prove the most eventful round as Ruiz, who had stuck to jabbing and clinching for most of the fight, came out strong and landed several power punches on Holyfield. Ruiz knocked the disoriented Holyfield down with a straight right halfway into the round. Holyfield beat the count to get up, but was weak in the legs and mostly clung to Ruiz for the remainder of the round (losing his own footing and going back to the canvas twice- both ruled slips rather than knockdowns). Ruiz continued to land power shots on the dazed Holyfield at will, additionally opening up a cut next to his left eye.

The twelfth round began with Ruiz dominating and connecting with nearly every jab he threw, Holyfield's defense clearly slipping. Holyfield went back on the offensive and both boxers landed power punches in between bouts of clinching and body punching, with Ruiz generally getting the better of the exchanges over the still shaky Holyfield. When the round ended, Ruiz returned to his corner with his hands raised in triumph while Holyfield returned to his corner while staring at his feet. Before the decision was announced, Ruiz embraced Holyfield, returned to his corner, and retrieved a Puerto Rican flag which he then waved in the center of the ring.

The judges saw Ruiz as the clear winner, with Stanley Christodoulou scoring it 116–110; Chuck Giampa, 115–111; and Patricia Jarman-Manning, 114–111, making him the first Latino boxer to have won a heavyweight world title. [3] [4]

Aftermath

Despite the title of fight being the "Last Word" the two would fight again in December, with another controversial decision allowing Ruiz to retain the title with a draw. [5]

The fight would underform with audiences, generating around 160,000 PPV buys. [6]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts: [7]

WinnerLoserWeight division/title belt(s) disputedResult
Flag of the United States.svg Tim Austin Flag of Colombia.svg Jesús Salvador Pérez IBF World bantamweight title6th-round TKO.
Flag of the United States.svg Byron Mitchell Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Manny Siaca vacant WBA World super middleweight title12th-round TKO.
Flag of the United States.svg Manuel Gomez Flag of Mexico.svg Miguel Ángel González Super Welterweight (10 rounds)Split Decision.
Flag of the United States.svg Christy Martin Flag of the United States.svg Jeanne MartinezWelterweight (10 rounds)Unanimous Decision.
Flag of Nicaragua.svg Rosendo Álvarez Flag of Colombia.svg Beibis Mendoza WBA World light flyweight title12th round Split Decision.
Non-TV bouts
Flag of Nigeria.svg Friday Ahunanya Flag of the United States.svg Nate Jones WBA-NABA heavyweight title12th round Split Decision.
Flag of the United States.svg Tommy Martin Flag of the United States.svg Harold SconiersHeavyweight (8 rounds)Unanimous Decision.

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada CTV
Flag of the United States.svg United States Showtime

References

  1. "Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz (2nd meeting) - BoxRec".
  2. Staff Writer (3 March 2001). "Holyfield finds it hard to sell fight with Ruiz". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  3. "Ruiz Batters Holyfield To Take W.B.A. Title". New York Times. 4 March 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  4. Tim Dahlberg (5 March 2001). "Ruiz still has to sell the world". Standard-Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  5. "John Ruiz vs. Evander Holyfield (3rd meeting) - BoxRec".
  6. R. Thomas Umstead (12 March 2001). "Holyfield-Ruiz II Is a Stiff". nexttv.com. Multichannel News. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Evander Holyfield' bouts
March 3, 2001
Succeeded by
John Ruiz's bouts
March 3, 2001