Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 19, 1991 TAG: 9103190294
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Medium
The victory placed Tyson a big step closer to trying to regain the world heavyweight championship. But the way it ended may have assured Ruddock of a rematch with Tyson.
Ruddock, who was knocked down twice earlier in the fight, stayed on his feet in the decisive seventh round. He was sent backward to the ropes by six straight shots. He blinked as he bounced off the ropes and appeared woozy, but stared in disbelief when referee Richard Steele signaled the fight was over. Tyson was a half-ring away from Ruddock when Steele took his controversial action.
"The guy was hurt," Steele said. "There was no need for me counting him out. My job is to stop him from getting hurt seriously.
"By the time I stopped it, he wasn't coherent."
Ruddock, however, appeared to be complaining to Steele about the fight being stopped.
"If [Tyson] had put me down, I would've been satisfied, instead of the referee coming in to stop it," Ruddock said.
"I can't control the referee's decision because he's more objective than I am," Tyson added. "I would have loved to hurt him and take him out."
Tyson's victory sets up a chance to meet the winner of the heavyweight championship fight between champion Evander Holyfield and George Foreman on April 19 at Atlantic City.
Before Tyson takes a shot at regaining the title he lost on an upset to James "Buster" Douglas 13 months ago at Tokyo, he very likely could meet Ruddock in a rematch.
"Mike Tyson is a powerful puncher, but I'd like him to put me down so I can be satisfied instead of the referee stopping the fight," said Ruddock, whose only mark was a knot by the side of his left eye.
Tyson himself said he would be happy to give Ruddock another shot.
"I think Ruddock was one of the hardest punchers I ever faced," Tyson said. "And I think a rematch is in order."
Steele's disputed call came one year and one day from the time he was the center of controversy when he stopped Julio Cesar Chavez's junior welterweight title fight against Meldrick Taylor with two seconds left in the final round. Taylor was well ahead on the officials' cards when it was stopped.
Sure to fuel the latest incident is the fact that Steele returned to Las Vegas from Japan on Friday after working a fight and, on Sunday night, worked the light flyweight fight between champion Michael Carbajal and Javier Vargas.
The crowd of 15,492 came to its feet as one when Steele stopped the match and it continued to roar as the ring filled with people and a melee broke out.
Steele was escorted by six security guards out of the arena.
While Tyson never left his feet, he paid tribute to Ruddock's power.
"He punches like a mule kicks," said the former heavyweight champion who has knocked out 36 opponents. "He punches so hard, but my chin is like concrete."
Late in the sixth round, it appeared Tyson might go down as he took a barrage of hooks and right hands from Ruddock that definitely rocked him.
By the time Ruddock made a bid to change the flow of the fight, he could well attest to Tyson's power.
Ruddock went down from a left hook 12 seconds into the second round, but bounced up right away and took a mandatory 8-count.
In the next round, Ruddock missed a right hand and paid dearly. Tyson flashed a left hook to his jaw and down went Razor again, this time for a 7-count. A few seconds after he got up, the bell rang.
"He does punch hard for his size," said the 6-foot-3 Ruddock, who enjoyed a 3 1/2-inch height advantage and an 11-inch reach advantage over Tyson. At 228, he also outweighed Tyson by 11 pounds.
Perhaps Tyson would have ended the fight in the seventh, but Steele beat him to it.
"He should have let us end it in style," Ruddock said.
Keywords:
BOXING
by CNB