John Ruiz vs. Andrew Golota
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| Date | November 13, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ruiz defeats Golota by Unanimous Decision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Ruiz vs. Andrew Golota, billed as Struggle For Supremacy (Night of the Heavyweights), was a professional boxing match contested on November 13, 2004, for the WBA Heavyweight championship.[1]
Background[edit]
On an 17 April bill at Madison Square Garden, John Ruiz & Chris Byrd successfully defence both of their versions of the heavyweight title. Ruiz by stopping Fres Oquendo and Byrd via a draw with Andrew Golota. It was expected that Byrd would have a rematch with Golota, however instead he was matched with close friend Jameel McCline, and Golota faced Ruiz.[2][3]
Don King claimed at a pre fight press conference that the winners of the two heavyweight title bouts would advance in an elimination tournament to unify the division.[4]
The fights[edit]
Undercard[edit]
On the first of the televised bouts, Evander Holyfield (ranked at 11th by the WBA) lost a lopsided Unanimous Decision against Larry Donald. This was followed by Hasim Rahman (WBA:1st, WBC/WBO:2nd & IBF:3rd) facing Kali Meehan (WBC:5th, IBF:10th & WBA:14th) who only two months earlier had lost a split decision to WBO titleholder Lamon Brewster, having broken Brewster's jaw in the process. Rahman dominated Meehan, landing many heavy shots, leading Meehan's corner to pull him out after 4 rounds. The HBO's Jim Lampley and Roy Jones Jr. agreed that it was the best Rahman had looked since his victory over Lennox Lewis more than three years earlier. Promoter Don King speaking to Larry Merchant in the ring after the bout said that he would prefer to match Rahman with Vitali Klitschko over either Ruiz or Byrd.
Byrd vs. McCline[edit]
| Title(s) on the line | IBF Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Byrd defeats McCline by Split Decision[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
McCline dropped Byrd with a right hand in the second round. Byrd, however come on strong in the later rounds, scoring with quick inside combinations. At the end of 12 entertaining rounds, one judge scored the bout for McCline 114–112, while the other two scored it 115–112 and 114–113 for Byrd, giving him a split decision victory.[6] The Associated Press scored it 115–113 for Byrd.[7][8] HBO's Harold Lederman had the bout scored as 114–112 for Byrd.
Main Event[edit]
Ruiz was dropped by a counter right from Golota late in the second round, he beat the round but was dropped again with a right to the top of the head before the end of the round. Ruiz was also deducted a point for hitting Golota on the back of the head in the fourth round. Ruiz's trainer, Norman Stone spent much of bout loudly criticizing referee Randy Neumann. After pausing the bout in the eight round for Stone to fix some loose tape on Ruiz's glove, Stone was heard to audibly call Neumann a "Fucking jerk off". This prompted Neumann to expel Stone from the corner and send him back to the dressing room, something that HBO's Harold Lederman stated was unprecedented in his memory.[9] Ruiz would come on strong late and at the end of 12 rounds, would win a close but unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the bout 114–111 and third 113–112.[10]
The Associated Press had scored the bout for Golota 113-112 as had Lederman.
Aftermath[edit]
Despite his desire for a rematch with Byrd, it be announced in December that Golota would be matched against WBO belt holder Lamon Brewster, while Ruiz would face James Toney.[11][12] Three days after his loss against Donald, Holyfield would be placed indefinite medical suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission, with chairman Ron Stevens saying "To my practiced mind, Holyfield shouldn't be fighting any more. It's the responsibility of the state athletic commission to save a boxer from himself."[13]
Undercard[edit]
Confirmed bouts:[14]
Broadcasting[edit]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States |
HBO |
References[edit]
- ^ "John Ruiz vs. Andrew Golota". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ "Byrd and Golota to go again". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Michael Hirsley (27 October 2004). "Golota wants 2nd shot at Byrd". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ Michael Hirsley (11 November 2004). "Heavyweights light on talent". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Chris Byrd vs. Jameel McCline". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Michael Hirsley (14 November 2004). "Byrd hits deck but triumphs". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ Associated Press (11 November 2004). "Byrd, McCline putting friendship on hold". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ "Byrd takes decision over McCline". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 14 November 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Associated Press (14 November 2004). "Byrd, Ruiz earn decisions, keep titles". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Ruiz still heavyweight champion". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 14 November 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Ruiz calls for top-weight rethink". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 21 November 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Ruiz set to defend against Toney". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Holyfield suspended by doctors". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 16 November 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".