I had just come back from a ten day trip to Vegas and LA, when I went to the Pavilion in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to see Mike Tyson versus Razor Ruddock. I had stopped by the Mirage in Vegas while out there, and asked if Tyson or Ruddock were holding public workouts, and was told no.
Ruddock was a big, strong fighter with a tremendous left hook, who almost killed Michael Dokes when they fought a year earlier. I was no Tyson fan, so it was easy to root for Razor when I took my seat on March 18th, 1991, and waited for round one to begin.
Both fighters came out throwing bombs, and it was obvious that Ruddock was not afraid of Tyson. Both men displayed good chins, because big shots were landing from both. Razor suffered a flash knockdown in the second, but arose quickly and was obviously not hurt. The brisk action continued, and I was hoping a huge hook from Razor would connect and put Tyson to sleep.
In the seventh, Tyson landed a left hook, Ruddock retreated, sagged to the ropes, and referee Richard Steele jumped in and stopped the fight. It was another bonehead call from Steele, who had stopped the Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez fight from a year earlier with 2 seconds left. Meldrick was standing and alert and was cheated from what would have been the biggest victory of his career. Steel ruined this fight as well, because Ruddock was obviously ready to continue. It made the night sour, and I went home feeling cheated and wishing Mills Lane had been the referee.
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