THE " ROCK " IN THE RUIZ CORNER
 
 
 
 
       neverlast
      Norman "Stoney" Stone has decided for a number of rumored reasons to  retire from the corner of former WBA heavyweight kingpin John Ruiz. Stone   has been vilified on many occasions throughout his association with Ruiz.   Controversial? You bet... Entertaining? Well I guess that comes down to   the "eye of the beholder" category but "Stoney" was usually good copy.  It all came down to drawing attention to your fighter and as a manager,   Norman had the knack.
 
       Let's face it, John Ruiz is a decent fighter and a decent man. What  he lacks is charisma. Enter Norman Stone. Like him or dislike him. Agree   with him or disagree with him...This guy was a mover and a shaker. In my   book, without him, John Ruiz would not be where he is today.
 
       John Ruiz turned pro in 1992. On November 27, 1993 I saw John fight  live in Cleveland. He won a rather boring six round decision over a   journeyman, Carl "Not The Truth" Williams. If you would have told me  then that Ruiz would one day beat Evander Holyfield and be a major player    in the heavyweight division for nearly a decade... I would have laughed in   your face. Hey guess what? In 1994 he lost a twelve round decision to Danell Nicholson for the vacant IBO heavyweight title. After reeling off  seven wins he was then crushed in less then a round by the feared David  Tua. Could anyone see Ruiz becoming a champion at this point ?
 
       Ruiz hit the big time in 1998 when he halted former champion Tony "TNT" Tucker. On August 12, 2000 Ruiz was matched with Evander Holyfield  for the vacant WBA title. John lost a highly debatable decision. It set up a return match that took place on March 3, 2001. On that night, John Ruiz was crowned "World Champion." In December he drew with Evander to retain his crown. Without a doubt, three of the most boring fights I've ever witnessed !
 
       Nevertheless as champion Ruiz did not have a bad run. He beat Kirk Johnson on a DQ. This was a fight that most people saw John losing but I  thought he was getting the better of Johnson up until the stoppage.
 
       Then came his legit loss to a prime time Roy Jones Jr. Lucky for Ruiz  that Jones decided to go back to the light heavyweight division. Next Ruiz  "regains" his title with a well deserved points win over Hasim "Rock" Rahman. This mat go down as John's best career win.
 
       In 2004 Ruiz halted Fres Oquendo and edged Andrew Golota. In 2005 his   loss on points to James Toney was changed to a "No Contest" because  Toney may have violated the steroid use rules. Ruiz was again re-instated as WBA champion. Next came the loss to Valuev. Where does Ruiz go next  remains to be seen. He has already expressed his desire for a return engagement.
 
       I'm not quite sure when Norman Stone entered the career of John Ruiz. At least what I think I see is a manager who did what a manager is supposed to do. Make as much money for your fighter as you can with the minimal amount of risk. In my opinion "Stoney" did that. He did not make foolish matches for John against Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klitschko. He did not put him in a unification fight with IBF titleholder Chris Byrd who probably would have boxed Ruiz silly.
 
       I think "Stoney" helped an under rated yet over achieving John Ruiz make a whole lotta of money. Give the man his due. He's earned it !
 
     Jim Amato