Ruiz-Jones strategy debated

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003 | 9:31 a.m.

Although he lives in Las Vegas and will be fighting here March 1 against Roy Jones Jr., John Ruiz is holding his training camp in Florida. The idea is to utilize the humidity and get him down from his normal 233 pounds to a svelte 225.

But, to his handlers' dismay, just the opposite has happened. Ruiz, as of this week, is up to 238 pounds.

Nonetheless, his manager, Norman Stone, and trainer, Gabe LaMarca, said Ruiz has added speed and will attempt to out-box Jones when they square off at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Which has Jones' trainer, Las Vegas resident Alton Merkerson, reacting in disbelief.

"That would be a big mistake on John's part," Merkerson said during a conference call with Stone and LaMarca. "He'll get picked apart. They're trying to teach him to box (but) I don't actually think it's going to happen because it's just not John's mentality.

"I think he's going to be very aggressive and will be aggressive for a short time -- until he starts getting hit."

Merkerson believes Ruiz will set aside any notion of out-boxing the lighter Jones, simply because he's the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion and the bigger man.

"What people fail to realize is, I think, that Ruiz is going to disrespect Roy because he's not a heavyweight," Merkerson said. "(Ruiz) is an aggressive, rough guy on the inside who sometimes makes mistakes."

This idea that Ruiz can out-box Jones is being touted by Stone and LaMarca.

"Johnny can really box," Stone said. "I think Roy Jones bit off a little more than he can chew. I see Johnny knocking him out within seven rounds (and) I see him stopping him with his jab more than anything."

The Ruiz camp is using 12 sparring partners, with each man going one round with the champion.

"Johnny's out to prove his jab is as fast as Roy's," Stone said. "We're going to box him, no doubt about it."

LaMarca agreed.

"(Ruiz) is moving around like a cat," he said. "Every camp he gets better at something, and for this one it's his movement.

"I don't want to say anything stupid, but I don't see any problems at all for Johnny in this fight."

But just as Merkerson has his suspicions about Ruiz's actual game plan, LaMarca thinks Jones will vary from his usual attack and will fight more than he'll look to be elusive.

"I don't think Roy Jones is going to stick and run," LaMarca said. "He has something to prove here and he's going to come right at Johnny."

Once again, Merkerson disagrees.

"Roy's not going to stand there toe to toe to prove something to society," he said. "If we can beat John Ruiz for 12 rounds with a jab, so be it.

"Roy's going to be very busy and is going to try and keep control of Ruiz. We want to hit Ruiz as much as we can and get him to make some mistakes.

"Roy's not going to get into a confrontation unless he has to."

In other words, neither side is too sure of what the other fighter will do once the bell rings, which, as Merkerson says, "might make for a boring fight."

As for their camps, Jones has moved from Pensacola, Fla., to New Orleans to better seclude himself from family and friends, while Ruiz will stay in Delray Beach, Fla., until Feb. 22 when he returns to Las Vegas.

"We thought of coming back to Las Vegas last week," Stone said, referring to Ruiz gaining weight at a time he wanted to lose a few pounds. "But he usually gains weight as he's training and the same thing has happened again."