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Holyfield-Ruiz III a Robbery and a Dud

© Joseph Bruno

Holyfield-Ruiz III wasn't the biggest robbery since the Brinks job, but it sure came mighty close.

ON Saturday night December 15, at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, which is located on an Indian Reservation, former three-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield dominated WBA champ John "The Quite Man" Ruiz for most of the mostly-dull 12 rounds. Still somehow two of the three "Honest Injun'" judges saw it fit not to give Holyfield the fight. None of this would make any sense unless you remember these two words.

Don King.

After 12 mostly boring rounds televised on HBO, Judge Julie Lederman, the daughter of HBO boxing commentator Harold Lederman, seemed to be the only judge who actually watched the fight. She scored the bout 116-112 for Holyfield, which exactly matched this scribe's scorecard. Judge Don O'Neill, who is originally from Boston, not far from where the fight took place and close to where homeboy Ruiz hails from (Chelsea, Mass.) had it 115-113 for Ruiz. Judge Tom Kaczmarek, who once wrote a book on how to judge a fight, but obviously never read it, called it a 114-114 a draw.

By this fight being scored a draw, King, who has promotional rights to both fighters, seemingly did the impossible. He kept both fighters in the heavyweight mix to make big bucks in the near future. One fighter (Holyfield) is shot. And the other fighter (Ruiz) can't fight even a lick. But that's all right, since the present heavyweight division is the least talented since Boston Strongboy John L Sullivan laced up his gloves in the last part of the 19th Century.

In fact, if the referee Steve Smoger had done his job in the first round, even Don King wouldn't have been able to steal this fight.

In a clinch inside, Holyfield handed a left hook to the temple of the crouching Ruiz. Ruiz went down on all fours, an obvious knockdown, but Smoger waved it off, saying Ruiz had slipped. TV Relays showed in was the left hook that dropped Ruiz to the canvas. If the knockdown had been allowed, the round would've been scored 10-8 round for Holyfield, and that was enough to tip the verdict in his favor.

"I definitely feel I won," Ruiz, said after the fight "It took me a while to get off, but I did."

Get off what? The canvas?

For the entire 12 rounds, all Ruiz did was charge Holyfield, behind either a sweeping left hook, or looping right cross, then grab Holyfield in a bear hug. Make no mistake. Some men reading this column have never been hugged so passionately by their wives.