Ruiz wants to make name for himself

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 30, 2000 | 10:16 a.m.

John Ruiz may not have a widespread reputation, yet his claim to fame as a body puncher was more than enough reason to keep Evander Holyfield from fighting him at anything less than 100 percent.

"I've done my homework," Holyfield said. "Each and every time I took a swing with my left arm, I'd aggravate it. I knew I didn't want to go into a fight with John Ruiz in that condition, because a big part of his game is going to the body."

Holyfield and Ruiz had been scheduled to fight for the vacant World Boxing Association heavyweight championship June 10 at Caesars Palace, but the fight was postponed when the three-time former champion suffered an injury to his left rib cage. Now they're scheduled to fight Aug. 12 in a ballroom within Paris Las Vegas.

Both men were at the hotel Thursday in an effort to rekindle interest in the bout.

"I'll definitely go out of my way to throw some body punches," Ruiz promised. "But, if anything, I always go to the body, so it won't be all that much different for me."

Ruiz, 28, is 36-3 with 27 knockouts and is ranked the No. 1 contender by the WBA (and by the World Boxing Council) in spite of a quick knockout loss to David Tua and two other disappointing setbacks. He's a plus 300 underdog in the Paris sports book.

Holyfield, 37, is 36-4-1 with 25 knockouts and is the betting favorite at a minus 400.

"We're all unknown until we beat somebody who's high on the list," Holyfield said of Ruiz's lack of renown. "I popped up that way and now I have to keep him from becoming well known because he beat me.

"I know he knows what I can do, so I have to add something new to trick him. I have to be a little smarter than he is."

Ruiz welcomes the challenge.

"I want him at his best," he said. "I want to prove I'm at his level. It's going to be a tough fight because he has great pride and a big heart, and I know enough not to listen to people say he's too old.

"I intend to win. Beating Evander will be the first step toward making me a legend."

Tickets for the card are on sale and are priced from $50 to $500.