Ruiz vs Tua today, who takes it?

[ChrisPontius]

We all know what happened the first time, but considering Ruiz hasn't been close to being knocked out after 10 years of taking on top opposition, it is fair to say he's improved a lot. He looked good against Valuev (some fought he won, i thought he lost a close one) and had a good competitive fight with the current WBA champion, Ruslan Chagaev.

Tua on the other hand, has done very little as of late. I had him losing his fight with Rahman in 2003 (the knockdown was legit if you ask me, they were still fighting) and after that he only fought tomato cans. His fight with Hawkins was a rather close one, while even the crude Sam Peter beat him in a lopsided decision. Alexander Povetkin was fighting Ceronne Fox in his second professional fight, Tua shouldn't be fighting these guys. He's got plenty of experience; he's only getting older.

Anyway.

Who do you pick? Pick with your brain, not with your heart, because i know many people hate Ruiz, and rightfully. He was a complete bore.

[Illmatic]

yup, we all know what happened the first time...Ruiz was schooling Tua until his blatant cheating.

[MagnificentMatt]

yup, we all know what happened the first time...Ruiz was schooling Tua until his blatant cheating.\

For the whole 20 seconds.

[andyZOR]

Good topic. I don't know for sure. All your points are pretty valid.

[brooklyn1550]

Tua by TKO

[MagnificentMatt]

Ruiz would shit himself...

[Jorodz]

tua by 3rd round ko. takes him longer now to get the left working. ruiz just doesn't have the jab to hold him off

[SteveO]

I'd pick Tua but it would take longer.

[standing 8]

Tua, even though he's way past his sell date.

[Jennifer Love Hewitt]

Ruiz UD's Tua.
Tua doesn't have it anymore.

[Jorodz]

hmmm, the amount of tua's decline will be determined once he faces a legitimate top 10. to be honest, tua's performances as of recent aren't MUCH worse than some in his prime. if he improves his activity level and body punching he could be a demon again. simply put he does well against guys who stand there and let him load up. ruiz isn't mobile, doesn't jab (well) and his hugs wouldn't work as effectively against a guy with tua's natural strength

[Zakman]

Tua would smoke that cheating fraud again, just like Peter will if they feed this talentless clubfighter to him. :yep

[left hook 75]

hmmm, the amount of tua's decline will be determined once he faces a legitimate top 10. to be honest, tua's performances as of recent aren't MUCH worse than some in his prime. if he improves his activity level and body punching he could be a demon again. simply put he does well against guys who stand there and let him load up. ruiz isn't mobile, doesn't jab (well) and his hugs wouldn't work as effectively against a guy with tua's natural strengthAgreed.

[Dr Gonzo]

Tua would come forward hard and Ruiz would get a big hook to the temple attempting to come in for the man hug. Tua in 5 or less - Ruiz inactivity and clinching tactics would not fly against Tua

[cuchulain]

Haven't seen Tua in a while so I don't know what kind of shape he's in.

However, I believe he could win this one with two Broken hands, as Ruiz would probably have a flashback coronary during the staredown.

[Blacc Jesus]

Tua by TKO.

[DamonD]

Ruiz makes it a longer fight, probably even outboxing a sluggish Tua by hanging on between shots, but eventually Tua's power tells and Ruiz goes down again to a KO loss.

I don't think Ruiz would be dumb enough to leave his chin out there for a left hook again, but physically I think he'd struggle as he's simply not good enough at sticking 'n' moving to do what's needed against Tua.

[ApatheticLeader]

A year or 2 ago, I'd have said that Ruiz takes this, as Tua is so inactive and seems to have lost much of his power/timing (and almost all of his speed/explosiveness).

Now though, Tua's timing might just be returning, and Ruiz can't clinch with the same force as he used to.

Tua UD/late KO

[Loufatski]

We all know what happened the first time, but considering Ruiz hasn't been close to being knocked out after 10 years of taking on top opposition, it is fair to say he's improved a lot. He looked good against Valuev (some fought he won, i thought he lost a close one) and had a good competitive fight with the current WBA champion, Ruslan Chagaev.

Tua on the other hand, has done very little as of late. I had him losing his fight with Rahman in 2003 (the knockdown was legit if you ask me, they were still fighting) and after that he only fought tomato cans. His fight with Hawkins was a rather close one, while even the crude Sam Peter beat him in a lopsided decision. Alexander Povetkin was fighting Ceronne Fox in his second professional fight, Tua shouldn't be fighting these guys. He's got plenty of experience; he's only getting older.

Anyway.

Who do you pick? Pick with your brain, not with your heart, because i know many people hate Ruiz, and rightfully. He was a complete bore.

Is holding allowed?

[K0NPHL1C7]

Tua would smoke that cheating fraud again, just like Peter will if they feed this talentless clubfighter to him. :yep
Right, because Peter has proven to be so talented in his last 4 fights right?

Look, the fact is, the first Tua knock out was a fluke, a happenstance, a "lucky combination if you will. Tua came out fast and hard, and caught Ruiz off guard, a mistake Ruiz never made before, and hasn't made since, even when fighting guys twice his size, or twice his skill level. Ruiz will not get knoced out again, ever. Regardless if you think he cheated, faked anything, or brought a gun into the ring with him, that's all specualtion and opinion(I'm talking to you Zakman), the fact remains, he hasn't been knocked out aside fromt that one night.