Holyfield triumphs but Ruiz feels robbed

Hometown judges Duane Ford and Dave Moretti declared Holyfield a 114-113 winner while Venezuela’s Fernando Viso gave him a 116-112 verdict after a fight which Ruiz dominated while Holyfield was tentative and lethargic.

“It was up to the judges,” Ruiz said. “Whatever they think they saw, I don’t know what they were seeing. It might be the fight before or the fight after. They weren’t watching me and Holyfield.”

Holyfield, the better drawing card, was outfought but left in position for big-money fights and possibly a third matchup with Mike Tyson.

Little-regarded Ruiz beat a sluggish fighter to gain a bit of respect, the most profitable outcome possible for their common promoter, controversial Don King.

“I don’t second guess the judges,” King said. “That discussion and debate is something that’s good for the sport of boxing.”

Nothing about this fight was good. Boxing suffered another black eye. The title taken from Britain’s Lennox Lewis by a New York judge after machinations by King was effectively thrown in a garbage can for all its value after this.

And Holyfield, who turns 38 in October, was shown as noncombative and weak in his first victory since September of 1998. He lost to Lewis last November after a controversial draw 17 months ago with Lewis in New York.

“There’s no doubt I won the fight,” Holyfield claimed as fans in attendance booed their disagreement. “They can look at it any way they want. There are a lot of people who want to take things away from me.”

Holyfield professed he would keep fighting until he could reclaim the undisputed World title, a ridiculous notion given his woeful showing against a 4-1 underdog. Holyfield rose to 37-4 with one draw. Ruiz fell to 36-4.

Ruiz was the aggressor throughout the fight while Holyfield struggled, looking like an old and worn out fighter and far from the man who defeated Mike Tyson and tested Lewis. Holyfield’s best moment came when he connected with a powerful right to the temple of Ruiz with 20 seconds to go in the third round, stunning his rival.

Ruiz staggered around the ring, reaching out to Holyfield and grabbing the former undisputed champion to steady his wobbly legs and escape the round without going down.

But Holyfield was unable to press his case in the fourth round, throwing fewer punches and being inactive as Ruiz seized the moment and won rounds.

Holyfield connected with a left hook in round six and Ruiz suffered a cut over his right eye when the fighters’ heads connected.

As the fight went on, Holyfield became more desperate. He tossed Ruiz to the canvas late in round seven and began the eighth with a flurry, but again failed to sustain it.

Needing a furious finish to win, Holyfield remained cautious for most of the final two rounds. Ruiz pressed the attack while Holyfield looked tired until the final 90 seconds, when he staggered Ruiz but failed to put him down.

Women’s wing protests Tyson’s visit

KUALA LUMPUR: The women’s wing of Malaysia’s largest Chinese political party has protested against a planned Mike Tyson bout in the country next year, reports said on Sunday.

The women’s wing of the Malaysian Chinese Association has written to the organiser Promote Classic Sdn. Bhd. to urge them to look for a better role model, said its Chief Ng Yen Yen. “We will not condone such a person who is violent,” Ng was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star. “We are not against sport but we are against bringing in someone who does not have a good attitude”.