Roy Jones Jr. vs. John Ruiz: Revisiting the Night ‘Superman’ Made History

On Saturday, March 1, 2003, Roy Jones Jr. created history as he defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title by unanimous decision at the Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada. At Big Fight Weekend, we love our nostalgia and want to pay homage to this historic fight.

Roy Jones Jr. vs. John Ruiz Revisted

Roy Jones Jr. Creates History

Jones created history as he went up in weight and won the WBA heavyweight strap with a dominant performance against Ruiz. The experienced heavyweight had a 25-pound weight advantage over “Superman,” but the hand speed of Jones was noticeable early on in the fight. Ruiz did catch him with a big right hand in the first round, which let “Superman” feel his power.

Read More: Roy Jones Jr. defeated Bernard Hopkins back in 1993

Jones boxed diligently and controlled the distance, using his jab effectively. He engaged at the right times and used his exceptional movement to create angles for attacks, which Ruiz struggled to deal with. “The Quiet Man” began to bleed from the nose from round four and couldn’t deal with the speed and accuracy of Jones. Ruiz tried to counter instead of using his size advantage, but “Superman” was too fast and accurate for the bigger man.

Read More: Roy Jones Jr kayoed Virgil Hill with one punch 21 years ago

The build-up to the fight was hostile as the two camps clashed at the weigh-in for the fight, but there was only one winner, as Jones threw classy combinations and used his movement to avoid the majority of counter shots from Ruiz. Jones used his attributes to perfection – ensuring Ruiz never got a foothold in this fight. The judges scorecards read 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110 in favour of the Pensacola native.

Listen below as TJ Rives and Dan Rafael revisit the night Jones made history against Ruiz and more on the latest “Big Fight Weekend Boxing Podcast.”

Legacy

The accuracy of “Superman” was evident as Ruiz face was bloodied and swollen after the fight, leaving the Massachusetts native to join the list of Jones Jr. victims. At the time of the success, only Jones and Michael Spinks had successfully (won a world title) moved from light heavyweight to heavyweight. The fight wasn’t a classic, but it served as a reminder of what an exceptional boxer Jones Jr. was.