RingSide Report

World News, Social Issues, Politics, Entertainment and Sports

John “The Quietman” Ruiz: Winning the Heavyweight Belt, Life After Boxing, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Joshua – Wilder Prediction & More…

Exclusive Interview by Joshua “City” Brewer

“People may see that as a bad part of my life for me, the Tua fight, but I see it as more of a positive side of my life. Without that gift and everybody, it really focused me down into really paying attention and focusing on boxing.” – John “The Quietman” Ruiz

John “The Quietman” Ruiz, 44-9-1, 30 KO’s is a name you’ve definitely heard in the sport of boxing. If you followed the heavyweight division in the 90s and early 2000s, you definitely would have come across Ruiz in some capacity. Hailing from Chelsea, MA, Ruiz would not only become a main staple in the heavyweight division, but he would also become the first Latino to pick up the heavyweight title.

He’s been in with some of the best of the last era of heavyweight at highest level of boxing entertainment. When it came to the Ring, “The Quiteman” ensured that he was heard when in the ring. From a state with a rich boxing history, Ruiz is another name that amongst the greats of Massachusetts. These days, he’s remained active and is doing his part to give back to the community that has been with him from the start. He’s taken all of the bumps and bruises and at the end of the day will continually be appreciated as time goes.

With that, I had the opportunity to speak to the one they say is quiet and he provided great insight into where he’s been in the past and where he’s going in the future.

JB: How did you get your start in boxing?

Well, I got into boxing, actually, I was thrown into boxing. My stepfather, I was very young, I was seven or eight years old, he brought me to a gym and told me to start hitting the bag and started putting me into my positions, boxing positions. At that point, I didn’t even know what boxing was.

JB: Did you start to get into boxing as you got older or anything of that nature as you participated?

No, that’s one thing I never got to do actually, even up to now I don’t really watch boxing. What happened is I was doing it 24/7. It was my life at that age. Between seven years old to 12, I was training from day to night. I’d go running, I’d go to school. After school, I’d go to the gym and go home and then go to bed. That basically was my life during that time frame, so the last thing I wanted to do was watch boxing. The thing is, like a normal kid I just watched cartoons. But, I did enjoy the boxing thing, the aspect of fighting someone else in a way. I did enjoy the fights and such, that’s the part I did enjoy. It’s just something that after a while, I had to do something with my life. Later on in my life, in my teenage years going out of highschool. I already had a son. I was graduating and needed to do something with my life.

JB: Well, you ended up becoming the first Latino world heavyweight champion, so you definitely did something major.

Yes, I’m very surprised. I see a lot of Latinos in boxing. I’m very surprised there had never been one in the heavyweight division. It’s kind of weird.

JB: It’s pretty crazy thinking about it. After 100 plus years you became the first. You solidified your place in history.

Yes, thank you.

JB: Massachusetts has a rich boxing history and many great champions have come from the state, overall. You fall along those ranks as well. You have Marvin Hagler, Rocky Marciano even before that. Have you looked back into the history of boxing in Massachusetts?

You know what, the weirdest part is I’m from the town of Chelsea, MA. Even that, Chelsea, had a big history in boxing. It was kind of strange. Chelsea is a small town. Growing up I would see murals of boxing and I didn’t realize there was a history of boxing in the town that I grew up in.

JB: You’re a veteran of 55 bouts. Any particular fight or couple fights stand out in your mind?

Looking back, like everything else, it’s always when you win the championship. It’s always the first one that pops up. After going for so long and training for so many years, to one day being crowned a champion is an awesome feeling. There are a few fights that stick out to me. One is the David Tua fight. People may see that as a bad part of my life for me, the Tua fight, but I see it as more of a positive side of my life. Without that gift and everybody, it really focused me down into really paying attention and focusing on boxing. That fight, the Evander Holyfield fights, and also the Hasim Rahman fight. There are fights out there that people want to forget, but these things do happen in life, fights that you lose but you learn more from it.

JB: I can definitely see that, especially with the Tua fight. It was a case where he caught you with a good punch as you were backing out and may not have been fully dialed in at that moment. I think that you were able to bounce back in your career and still compete at the highest level.

Yes. The other thing, how many fighters do you know that have been through that adversity early in their career where they were knocked out and went on to eventually become champion? Not too many fighters could actually get up from that. When I think about it, it really makes you question yourself in a way. Not too many fighters come out of that.

JB: You had a few fights in Great Britain, particularly a couple in York Hall. I’ve heard that it’s a very live venue. Do you remember the atmosphere being there?

Yes, I had multiple fights there. I was a part of Panos Eliades Promotions with Lennox Lewis and them. I was a part of that group for a little while starting out my career, that was my first promoter.

JB: Who do you feel was your toughest fight?

I always go back to the Evander Holyfield fight. The guy, he does bring everything to the table. If he could throw kicks, he would throw kicks in boxing. He brought everything. He did a lot of elbows, a lot headbutts. My thing is, that’s what I admire about him. I admire him he brings himself and his best to the table. He doesn’t bring a secondary voice, he’s the only one.

He makes sure that’s what he does, he goes out there and fight. At that time, after his loss to Lennox Lewis, which was kind of one of those weird fights, at that very moment I was number one for the WBA mandatory and that’s when Lennox Lewis did not want to fight me. He let go of the belt and that’s when me and Holyfield fought for it.

JB: Yes, we’ve heard that from others over the years, or at least in interviews people referring to Holyfield’s headbutts. I guess from my perspective as I’ve best heard it put, he may not be intentionally head butting, but he’s also not going to go out of his way or change his style to make sure that he doesn’t headbutt an opponent.

We all definitely know the one thing is to win. No matter what your style is you go out there to win the fight.

JB: Was there a fight that you wanted that never materialized?

I definitely wanted fight Lennox Lewis at the time when he was the WBA champion. I definitely wanted to have that fight with him, but that never happened. At those times, that’s was only fight I really wanted to happen. At that time, it was Holyfield or Lennox Lewis. I was fighting for Panos Eliades Promotions and hopefully I would get a fight with Lennox Lewis at some point. Then at that time it was like I knew it and my whole team knew it, that I would never get a fight with Lewis somehow.

I don’t know, who knows why. Back at that time when my contract was about to expire, I asked if I could go out there and shop around. The other fighter that was out there who was champion was Holyfield. That’s what you wanted, basically since kids you come fighting to become champion. So, my other thing was talking to Don King. Talking to Don King is an experience in itself in a way. He gave us an opportunity to fight. At that point we were ranked number one in the WBA and number two or three in the WBC, so we were pretty much ranked.

He gave us the opportunity like hey, you sign with Don King, you get the gift with Holyfield. Ok, so that’s what we wanted, to fight for a championship. So, we dropped Promotions and went with Don King Promotions. That’s when we got the fight, of course we were supposed to fight Lewis but he dropped the belt, so we ended up fighting Holyfield.

JB: Had you dealt with Don King before, prior to that timeframe?

No. Don King became my promoter after that. We had a bunch of fights afterwards. With Don King you kind of know who you’re dealing with in a way. Most of the fights it seemed he had both sides of the table. No, matter who won or who lost, he was the ultimate winner in the end of the picture. My thing with him is it was more of a situation where if I ever get into with a sound other person, he’d do what he needed to do to buy the other person. That’s what he normally did. He bought the other person for his promotion. That’s the part, he never lost on that. He was a guaranteed winner regardless of who won the fight.

JB: What do you think of the heavyweight division today with guys like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Joseph Parker?

It seems like the heavyweight’s kind of lacks fighters in a way. You don’t really hear anything about the fighters that are coming up, even those that are in the picture. Of course, you hear Wilder, of course you hear Joshua. Other than that, it’s like these other guys just pop up out of nowhere in a way. I don’t know if it’s that the promoters aren’t there or the fighters aren’t there. I don’t know which one it is.

JB: As far as Joshua Vs Wilder, who do you think wins that fight.

The reality is that’s the only fight they have in the heavyweight division. Like I said, there’s nobody else stepping up to that promotion wise. I guess right now the biggest draw for the heavyweight division is going to be Joshua-Wilder. In that fight, I’m going to have to pick Joshua. I think has more of a boxing style to him. He doesn’t depend on once punch. He’s more athletic. Of course, with Wilder if he catches you you’re going to be hitting the floor, especially with that right hand. But, if you have some athletic ability, a little bit of movement, and you’re tough like Joshua is, then he can beat him.

JB: What are you up to these days and have you thought of getting back into boxing in some capacity as say a trainer or anything?

Right now, I’m pretty much all of over the place. I’m coaching some basketball in the little league, my sons team. I’m doing a little flag football. I’m also helping on boxing, doing a boxing class in Florida. I’m basically trying to give back as much I can. I still have a gym in Bedford, MA.

I’m trying to open one in Chelsea, MA, which would be great for me because it is my hometown and it’ll definitely help out the community there. I’m basically just trying to do my best. The most important thing is opening the gym in Chelsea. I think it will really help the city at its core. I grew up there and I know what the kids are going through. I basically want to be a part of that, helping out.

JB: Final question…. How did you get the nickname “The Quietman?”

It was at my training camp actually. I was training for the Olympics in upstate New York. One of my friends had to come up and look for me. When I was there it was a time that Oscar De La Hoya, Raul Marquez and Chris Byrd were as well. Those guys in the 92’ Olympics. He started asking around from other boxers where I was and they’d ask if he was talking about the quiet guy. It evolved to the “The Quietman” and it stuck there. Some of those boxers actually gave me that name.

[si-contact-form form=’1′]

Leave a Reply