Ruiz repsonds to Postponement
By JD Vena

Just ten days before June 10 bout with Evander Holyfield, John "The Quietman" Ruiz received perhaps the hardest blow of his career. Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield injured a muscle in his rib cage, forcing a delay of their duel for the vacant WBA heavyweight title. At the time of this writing, it was confirmed that Holyfield could be ready to rumble as early as August.

"Johnny was ready to go," said Ruiz's disappointed manager, Norman Stone. "He was hurt himself and fought through it. I'm not questioning whether Holyfield was injured or not. I can't remember when Hoylfield ever pulled out of a fight. Three weeks ago, Johnny severed a tendon between his pinky and his ring finger on his left hand. We were at Mass General Hospital for 12 hours while his hand was being operated on. He was boxing with stitches in his hands. Believe me, Dr. Wang said he'd never make it to the fight with Holyfield."

Your columnist was completely unaware of this injury; indeed, I attending two fast-paced 15-round sparring sessions with five capable heavyweights, and Ruiz seemed fine.

Ruiz is rarely dealt a lucky hand. "We never seem to catch a break," said Ruiz. "First it was Lennox Lewis not fighting us and now it's Holyfield getting injured."

Ruiz understands that he will have to wait for his shot at the vacant WBA title. His most discouraging realization is that there will be no reward for his five weeks of labor. It is little comfort for Ruiz that Holyfield has himself had fights delayed or cancelled because an opponent was injured. Two of Holyfield's scheduled fights with Mike Tyson and his bout with Henry Akinwande were postponed due to their injuries.

Holyfield has also made the mistake of fighting through an injury to seek reward. On two of those many occasions, it cost him dearly. In his first bout with Michael Moorer, Holyfield entered the bout with an injured left shoulder. As a result, Holyfield appeared listless and unable to stop Moorer's southpaw jab, thus losing a 12-round majority decision to Moorer and the championship he had just regained from Riddick Bowe. In his rubber match with Bowe, Holyfield ran out of gas as early as the second round and was stopped for the first and only time in his career in the eighth round. Holyfield was warned before the bout that he had been diagnosed with hepatitis B.

Perhaps the lesson Holyfield learned after his last match with Bowe was the reason why he finally decided to play it safe. After all, his long-term greatness will forever be tempered by his losing fights with Bowe and Moorer. It may also be the reason why he continues to seek greatness, a mark John Ruiz also aspires to reach -- if he's lucky enough to get the opportunity.