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On March 3rd, he did just that. Ruiz knocked down Holyfield in the 11th round and won a unanimous decision in front of loud and rowdy crowd at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. The stronger, Holyfield (37-5 25 KO's) gave Ruiz all he could handle, but Ruiz's determination and big heart made him victorious, making him the first Latino Heavyweight Champion in boxing history. Round by Round coverage: Round One: Ruiz comes out aggressively and he's ready to brawl. Ruiz lands a right and is tied up by Holyfield. Holyfield lands a left-right and the fighters clinch once again.Cortez has to break the fighters twice early and then warns them both against holding. Holyfield lands a solid left jab to Ruiz's body. The holding continues, but Ruiz fights loose and lands a solid right to Holyfield's jaw and a good left jab. Round Two: Holyfield throws many good combinations, landing a strong uppercut to Ruiz's left eye. His eye is red and becomes puffy. Ruiz nails Holyfield with a straight right jab, then gets aggressive throwing combinations to the body. They slug it out at the end of the round exchanging punches. Round Three: Holyfield shows aggressiveness, but there is a lot of grabbing and holding. Ruiz keeps moving forward and being the aggressor. Ruiz lands a big right to the head of Holyfield and then a left jab. Ruiz seems to be landing his jab at will, nailing Holyfield on the chin. Ruiz is going for the body. Both men are throwing combinations. Left hook lands for Ruiz at the bell. Round Four: Holyfield starts with a good right. The fight is getting rough with dirty tactics. Ruiz lands a good right hand uppercut to Holyfield's chin. There is a lot of holding going on. Ruiz lands a big right hand and lands good combinations. Ruiz lands a good uppercut. Right hand lands for Ruiz. Ruiz is bleeding on his forehead due to a head butt while holding and wrestling with Holyfield. Round Five: In Ruiz's corner, his cut-man is treating a cut on his forehead which referee, Joe Cortez ruled as "an accidental headbutt. Holyfield starts off strong and lands some good punches. John Ruiz's face is a mess, his eye is swollen, his forehead is bleeding and is vision is being obscured. Holyfield lands a solid left hook and some good combinations. Ruiz lands a good right and now is landing good blows. Solid Jab lands well for Ruiz. Round Six: Holyfield is landing solid left jabs. Ruiz stops Holyfield in his tracks. Ruiz is back tracking and not punching. Great uppercut for Ruiz lands flush on the chin of Holyfield. Solid right hand for Ruiz. Holyfield is wobbly but Holyfield hits Ruiz in the back of his head toward the end of the round. Round Seven: Ruiz is moving around the ring backtracking and is not punching. The crowd begins to boo. Both fighters are moving slowly and circling the ring without throwing any punches. Holyfield lands a good right and Ruiz answers right back with a right of his own. The cut on Ruiz forehead has stopped bleeding. Not much is happening. Ruiz starts throwing some nice combinations. He is hurt, but comes back nicely. Seems like Ruiz's eye is bothering him. This was Holyfield's best round. Round Eight: Holyfield is the aggressor. Ruiz lands a good combination. Not much punching by either fighter, then Ruiz lands a good left right combination to the head. The fight is stopped to fix loose tape on Ruiz's glove. Ruiz lands a big right, then lands a solid left jab. Ruiz lands an uppercut to the right eye of Holyfield. Holyfield continues his dirty tactics by holding Ruiz and pulling his head down. Round Nine: Holyfield rushes in but misses with the left. Not much action by either boxer. A lot of holding going on. Holyfield lands some solid left hands and lands some heavy punches. Ruiz seems tired. Holyfield lands a good uppercut and follows with a body shot. Ruiz is receiving a lot of punishment. Holyfield hits Ruiz in the other eye with a right jab. Both of Ruiz's eyes are swollen. Round Ten: Holyfield lands a shot towards the back of Ruiz's head. Ruiz is not doing much and is backing up. Holyfield lands a low blow and Ruiz is down on his back and stomach. Cortez takes off a point from Holyfield and gives Ruiz up to 5 minutes for recovery. Ruiz recovers after 3 minutes and resumes to fight. Ruiz almost immediately throws a low blow with a left hook and Cortez warns him. Both fighter exchange punches, then Holyfield lands an uppercut to the chin towards the end of the round. Round Eleven: There is conflicting advice from the Ruiz corner before the start of the round. Holyfield lands a combination and Ruiz answers back with a few of his own. After an exchange of punches, Ruiz lands a sharp left hook followed by a devastating uppercut to the chin of Holyfield and Holyfield goes down at the 2:30 mark of the eleventh round. Holyfield struggles to get up and manages to beat the10 count. His eye is bloody and he looks shaken. Ruiz lands a left-right combination and Holyfield is on his way down but he holds on for dear life onto Ruiz. Holyfield is stumbling all over the ring as Ruiz nails him with several hard blows to the head and body. Holyfield isn't fighting anymore, he is holding and grabbing trying to avoid getting knocked out. Ruiz continues to land combinations and Holyfield gets rocked again. This is Ruiz's best round of the fight and Holyfield looks defeated. Round Twelve: John Ruiz starts off the round with several jabs and Holyfield retaliates with jabs of his own. The crowd starts cheering, "Holyfield, Holyfield" trying to encourage and motivate this real warrior. Both fighters look exhausted and are doing a lot of holding and grabbing. Holyfield is pawing at his left eye as the blood drip down his face. At the halfway mark of the twelve round Ruiz lands a left-right-left combination that wobbles Holyfield. Holyfield recovers and they exchange strong blows at the middle of the ring. The bell rings and Ruiz raises his hand in anticipation of victory.
Judge Stanley Christodoulou scored it 116-110, Chuck Giampa had it 115-111 and Patricia Jarman-Manning had it 114-111. All three for John "The Quiet Man" Ruiz.
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March 4, 2001 -- In a
rematch of a fight which took place last August, John "The Quiet
Man" Ruiz (37-4 24 KO's) showed many non-believers that he could
beat the former four-time Heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield. 