Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock’s exciting heavyweight campaign peaked in ’91 and ’92 with two fights against Mike Tyson and a quick loss to Lennox Lewis.
Tyson had built up two wins since his shock loss to Buster Douglas in Japan and faced Ruddock in a championship eliminator.
In the seventh, he got off a combination that convinced the referee to stop the action despite Ruddock being on his feet and seemingly compos mentis. Fans in The Mirage, Las Vegas made their feelings known and caused a riot. A rematch was ordered and ‘Iron’ Mike would win by unanimous decision after a gruelling twelve in which he broke the underdog’s jaw.
In the aftermath he praised ‘Razor’ and said he would go on to be world champion, but that chance came and went when Lennox Lewis beat him in 1992 for a chance to face champion Riddick Bowe next.
‘The Lion’s jab dominated in round one and gave Lewis the room to score a right hand knockdown. A relentless flurry in the second caused him to touch the canvas twice more and end the fight there and then.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, the 47-6 power-puncher rated his opponents. Whilst he said Lewis did indeed have the best jab out of all the men he faced, Ruddock believed the best overall was Tyson.
“I’d have to go with Tyson. He’s very good at his job. There’s different levels to boxing and Mike Tyson fluctuated in levels. When he’s training and [switched] on, it’s hard to beat him. I shared a ring with him for 19 rounds. Tyson had good defense – he was always slipping punches and had great head movement. He made it difficult to land power shots as he was manoeuvring inside. At the same time, he’s applying constant pressure, not giving you any time to recover or breathe.
Tyson was also quick but had unbelievable power for his size. He also had good timing and coordination, where he was throwing punches from all angles. You never knew what to expect and when he connected you felt the damage. He broke my jaw in the second round [of the second fight]. He had that killer instinct. When he went in the ring, you knew he had the desire to try to kill you and not hurt you. When he said, “If Razor Ruddock doesn’t die, it doesn’t count,” he meant that.”
Lewis would go on to beat Tyson in 2002 via eighth round stoppage.
