{"id":71112,"date":"2018-04-02T13:47:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T18:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=71112"},"modified":"2018-04-02T13:56:53","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T18:56:53","slug":"john-the-quietman-ruiz-winning-the-heavyweight-belt-life-after-boxing-lennox-lewis-evander-holyfield-joshua-wilder-prediction-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=71112","title":{"rendered":"John \u201cThe Quietman\u201d Ruiz: Winning the Heavyweight Belt, Life After Boxing, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Joshua \u2013 Wilder Prediction & More\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Exclusive Interview by Joshua \u201cCity\u201d Brewer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople 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.\u201d – John \u201cThe Quietman\u201d Ruiz<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

John \u201cThe Quietman\u201d Ruiz, 44-9-1, 30 KO\u2019s is a name you\u2019ve 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. <\/p>\n

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, \u201cThe Quiteman\u201d 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\u2019s remained active and is doing his part to give back to the community that has been with him from the start. He\u2019s taken all of the bumps and bruises and at the end of the day will continually be appreciated as time goes.<\/p>\n

With that, I had the opportunity to speak to the one they say is quiet and he provided great insight into where he\u2019s been in the past and where he\u2019s going in the future.<\/p>\n

JB: How did you get your start in boxing?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019t even know what boxing was.<\/p>\n

JB: Did you start to get into boxing as you got older or anything of that nature as you participated?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

No, that\u2019s one thing I never got to do actually, even up to now I don\u2019t 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\u2019d go running, I\u2019d go to school. After school, I\u2019d 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\u2019s the part I did enjoy. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

JB: Well, you ended up becoming the first Latino world heavyweight champion, so you definitely did something major.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m very surprised. I see a lot of Latinos in boxing. I\u2019m very surprised there had never been one in the heavyweight division. It\u2019s kind of weird.<\/p>\n

JB: It\u2019s pretty crazy thinking about it. After 100 plus years you became the first. You solidified your place in history.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, thank you.<\/p>\n

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?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You know what, the weirdest part is I\u2019m 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\u2019t realize there was a history of boxing in the town that I grew up in.<\/p>\n

JB: You\u2019re a veteran of 55 bouts. Any particular fight or couple fights stand out in your mind?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Looking back, like everything else, it\u2019s always when you win the championship. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

JB: You had a few fights in Great Britain, particularly a couple in York Hall. I\u2019ve heard that it\u2019s a very live venue. Do you remember the atmosphere being there?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>JB: Who do you feel was your toughest fight?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019s what I admire about him. I admire him he brings himself and his best to the table. He doesn\u2019t bring a secondary voice, he\u2019s the only one.<\/p>\n

He makes sure that\u2019s 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\u2019s when Lennox Lewis did not want to fight me. He let go of the belt and that\u2019s when me and Holyfield fought for it.<\/p>\n

JB: Yes, we\u2019ve heard that from others over the years, or at least in interviews people referring to Holyfield\u2019s headbutts. I guess from my perspective as I\u2019ve best heard it put, he may not be intentionally head butting, but he\u2019s also not going to go out of his way or change his style to make sure that he doesn\u2019t headbutt an opponent.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We all definitely know the one thing is to win. No matter what your style is you go out there to win the fight.<\/p>\n

JB: Was there a fight that you wanted that never materialized?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019s was only fight I really wanted to happen. At that time, it was Holyfield or Lennox Lewis. I was fighting for \"\"<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

He gave us the opportunity like hey, you sign with Don King, you get the gift with Holyfield. Ok, so that\u2019s what we wanted, to fight for a championship. So, we dropped Promotions and went with Don King Promotions. That\u2019s when we got the fight, of course we were supposed to fight Lewis but he dropped the belt, so we ended up fighting Holyfield.<\/p>\n

JB: Had you dealt with Don King before, prior to that timeframe?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>No. Don King became my promoter after that. We had a bunch of fights afterwards. With Don King you kind of know who you\u2019re 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\u2019d do what he needed to do to buy the other person. That\u2019s what he normally did. He bought the other person for his promotion. That\u2019s the part, he never lost on that. He was a guaranteed winner regardless of who won the fight.<\/p>\n

JB: What do you think of the heavyweight division today with guys like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Joseph Parker?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It seems like the heavyweight\u2019s kind of lacks fighters in a way. You don\u2019t 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\u2019s like these other guys just pop up out of nowhere in a way. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s that the promoters aren\u2019t there or the fighters aren\u2019t there. I don\u2019t know which one it is.<\/p>\n

JB: As far as Joshua Vs Wilder, who do you think wins that fight.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The reality is that\u2019s the only fight they have in the heavyweight division. Like I said, there\u2019s 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\u2019m going to have to pick Joshua. I think has more of a boxing style to him. He doesn\u2019t depend on once punch. He\u2019s more athletic. Of course, with Wilder if he catches you you\u2019re 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\u2019re tough like Joshua is, then he can beat him.<\/p>\n

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?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Right now, I\u2019m pretty much all of over the place. I\u2019m coaching some basketball in the little league, my sons team. I\u2019m doing a little flag football. I\u2019m also helping on boxing, doing a boxing class in Florida. I\u2019m basically trying to give back as much I can. I still have a gym in Bedford, MA.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to open one in Chelsea, MA, which would be great for me because it is my hometown and it\u2019ll definitely help out the community there. I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

JB: Final question\u2026. How did you get the nickname \u201cThe Quietman?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019 Olympics. He started asking around from other boxers where I was and they\u2019d ask if he was talking about the quiet guy. It evolved to the \u201cThe Quietman\u201d and it stuck there. Some of those boxers actually gave me that name.<\/p>\n