Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz

Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz, billed as "Justice", was a professional boxing match contested on August 12, 2000 for the WBA Heavyweight Championship.

"Justice"

Date	August 12, 2000
Venue	Paris Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	WBA Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Evander Holyfield John Ruiz Nickname "The Real Deal" "The Quietman" Hometown Atlanta, Georgia Chelsea, Massachusetts Pre-fight record 36–4–1 36–3 Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 6 ft 2 ^1⁄2 in (189 cm) Weight 221 lb (100 kg) 224 lb (102 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight WBA No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Holyfield defeated Ruiz via Unanimous decision

Background

After Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield at the second attempt to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, the WBA ordered Lewis to face its top contender John Ruiz, where as Lewis wanted to first defend his titles against WBC and IBF number two contender Michael Grant. The WBA and Lewis agreed that he would fight Grant first followed by Ruiz. Ruiz's promoter Don King challenged the decision in court and a clause was found in Lewis' contract that stated the winner of the Holyfield–Lewis fight would first defend his titles against the WBA's number one contender. Because of this, Lewis was stripped of his WBA title.[1] The WBA chose Holyfield to face Ruiz for the vacant WBA Heavyweight title.

The fight

Ruiz was aggressive throughout the fight landing many effective jabs, and except for late in the third round, he was never really in any serious trouble from Holyfield.

Judges Duane Ford and Dave Moretti scored the fight 114-113, while Judge Fernando Viso scored it 116-112 giving Evander Holyfield victory by unanimous decision to become the first boxer in history to be the World Heavyweight Champion four times.

Controversy

The decision was controversial as many observers and boxing reporters felt that the underdog Ruiz had done enough to win. In interviews after the fight Ruiz said "It was highway robbery without a gun,... I won the fight and he knows I won the fight...I had control of the fight. I am very surprised by the judges' decision. I don't know what fight they saw." [2] Showtime commentators described the decision as "absurd" and "ridiculous".

Aftermath

Due to this controversial decision, an immediate rematch was ordered to take place in early 2001

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[3]

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Beibis Mendoza	Rosendo Álvarez	vacant WBA World light flyweight title	7th round DQ.
Non-TV bouts
Daniel Seda	Oscar León	vacant WBA Fedelatin featherweight title	8th round TKO.
Richie Melito	Thomas Williams	Heavyweight (10 rounds)	1st round KO.
Christy Martin	Dianna Lewis	Welterweight (10 rounds)	Unanimous Decision.
Carlos Quintana	Miguel Avila	Welterweight (10 rounds)	1st round TKO.
Jeffrey Hill	Shakir Ashanti	Super Welterweight (6 rounds)	4th round TKO.
Siarhei Liakhovich	Tracy Wilson	Heavyweight (4 rounds)	1st round KO.

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	Showtime

References

1. Hard-Hitting Federal Judge Strips Lewis of WBA Title, L.A. Times article, 2000-04–13, Retrieved on 2013-08-10
2. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Evander_Holyfield_vs._John_Ruiz_(1st_meeting)
3. "BoxRec - event".

Preceded by vs. Lennox Lewis	Evander Holyfield' bouts August 12, 2000	Succeeded by Rematch
Preceded by vs. Thomas Williams	John Ruiz's bouts August 12, 2000