Ruiz not making excuses as he preps for rematch

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 1, 2001 | 10:29 a.m.

The information gets to John Ruiz secondhand, yet he doesn't question its validity.

Told that World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has just spent the better part of an hour attributing his poor performance against Ruiz last August to a busted eardrum, Ruiz nods as if he's not surprised.

"I think he's trying to convince himself that he's the better fighter," Ruiz said Wednesday at Mandalay Bay, where he'll meet Holyfield in a Saturday fight on pay-per-view. "Right now he's fighting a mind game. He has to convince himself to come out and fight another fight instead of packing it in."

From Ruiz's perspective, Holyfield is being less than glib.

"He has more doubt about himself now," Ruiz said. "He's making excuses."

Holyfield, 38, and Ruiz, 29, are rematched by mandate of the WBA after their first fight (at Paris Las Vegas) was closely scored and not without its controversies. Holyfield emerged as the winner by 1, 1 and 4 points on the judges' cards.

"I want what was taken from me in the first fight," Ruiz said, believing wholeheartedly that he won the initial bout. "He's done great things in his life and fought great champions, but at the first bell that's all out the window and I'm going to try and kill him."

Both fighters predict a more interesting, entertaining and action-filled match than they put on the first time.

"I expect him to come out swinging and try to knock me out," Ruiz said. "If both of us are going to step it up, one is going to be knocked down and one is going to be the champion."

Holyfield, 37-4-1 with 25 knockouts, is a four-time world champion.

Ruiz, 36-4 with 27 KOs, is past the embryonic portion of his career yet some still question his credentials. He is, after all, the guy who lost to David Tua in 19 seconds in 1996 and who had lost earlier fights to Danell Nicholson and to the late Sergei Kobozev.

"I still think about it," Ruiz said of being flattened by Tua. "It's something that will never go away, and I bring it to each fight. He woke me up."

Until losing to Holyfield last summer, Ruiz had won 11 straight fights and was the No. 1 contender in two of the three major boxing organizations. He's back in with Holyfield because of the WBA's insistence.

"I thought Evander would say it was a controversial fight and give me a rematch, but he waited for the WBA to make it mandatory," Ruiz said. "I don't think any less of him for that, but it was disappointing."

It turns out Ruiz is making a habit of being disappointed by Holyfield.

"Our first fight was so disappointing because I expected so much more out of him," he said. "I expected the best of him."

He does this time, too.

"He's been a great champion but my time is now," Ruiz said. "I don't think the fight will come down to a decision, because with my quickness I can take him out.

"In the first fight he conserved his energy at the beginning, so he would last 12 rounds. This time I think he'll push it a little more and that will work to my advantage."

Bettors don't quite agree and Holyfield is a minus 230 favorite in the Mandalay Bay sports book. Ruiz is a plus 190. On the primary proposition bet, it's even that the fight goes its 12-round distance and a minus 130 that it will not.

"I'm more relaxed this time," Ruiz said. "I want to see what he still has (but) I don't think he can surprise me."

Ruiz, a native of Massachusetts but with Puerto Rican parents, admits his journey through a nine-year pro career has had its pratfalls.

"My career was never flying high with everything going well for me," he said. "It has had its ups and downs.

"I had to go the hard way."

His best wins have come over Jimmy Thunder and former world champion Tony Tucker.

"I fight as good as my opponent," he claimed, and if that's true he wants Holyfield at his best.

"It'll be a dream come true," he said of the possibility of winning and earning the WBA championship. "I'll be a part of history as the first Latino heavyweight champion and it'll be a wonderful feeling.

"Being the heavyweight champion is like finding gold in a mine. It's what everybody wants."