Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock Birthday Tribute

As Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock celebrates his 57^th birthday, Boxing Guru pay tribute to one of the greatest knockout artists of his generation.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Canada, at a young age, Ruddock had developed a love for boxing that shaped a legendary career.

Overcoming a rare respiratory illness, the Canadian stunned doctors and ended up competing on 47 occasions in his 27-years in the ring. The most famous of those fights, his losses to Mike Tyson and Lenox Lewis.

Boxing fans will best remember Ruddock for hitting a prime ‘Iron Mike’ so hard, that the New Yorker compared it to being kicked by a mule. During their first fight in March 1991, the punch left Tyson truly reeling.

Tyson vs Ruddock 1 was iconic. For the chance to fight the winner of Evander Holyfield vs George Foreman, two men went to war as fireworks went off both inside and outside of the ring. Fans were fighting among themselves in the stands, as referee Richard Steele stopped the fight in Tyson’s favour during round 7.

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Tyson was so impressed by Ruddock that he praised the man who had just lost his WBA inter-continental heavyweight champion status. Tyson said:

“Man, this guy is tough, he’ll be champion of the world one day if he stays dedicated and doesn’t slip up.”

Several boxing fanatics thought that Steele had called the bout too early and that Ruddock had plenty left in the tank. The re-match took place in June 1991 and lasted a full 12 rounds. Tyson knocked Ruddock down twice during the bout and won by unanimous decision. Both fighters were injured – Ruddock had a broken jaw and Tyson suffered a perforated eardrum.

The second iconic Ruddock fight was against Lewis for the Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight title in London. Ruddock was ranked number one by the WBC and Lewis was ranked number two.

‘The Lion’ threw a right cross and knocked Ruddock down with ten seconds left in the first round. Lewis put Ruddock down twice more early in the second and the referee stopped the fight as a result.

THE BOXING GAME YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!

Whilst never a world champion, Ruddock and his famous left hand (despite being an orthodox fighter) will forever go down in history.

Ranked 70th on The Ring magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time, Ruddock was an against the odds fighter who was as sharp as a razor blade and frequently ducked by the best in the game.