Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield should heed “Razor” Ruddock’s warning, whose heavyweight return in his 50s was a disaster | Boxing news

Razor Ruddock launched an unsuccessful comeback in his 50s

Like ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson today, Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock said all the right things. He had found his hunger again, had gone vegan, and was desperate to show that he felt stronger in his 50s than in his 20s.

Named after his punches that split the skin of opponents, Razor did what Tyson and company are threatening to do by returning to the heavyweight division five years ago when he was 51 years old. It ended disastrously in a resounding KO loss to an opponent 22 years his junior.

He was never a heavyweight world champion, but Razor, known for the power of his left hand and a nickname ‘the smash’ punch, was a staple of the 1990s scene who shared the ring with legends. He lost twice to Tyson, but was honored for his toughness by going the distance with a broken jaw in his rematch. He was later defeated in two rounds by Lennox Lewis, but he has good victories over ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith and Greg Page.

Razor, 51, knocked out by Dillon Carman, 29

He put time into his career in 2001 but, 14 years later as the father of six and grandfather of four, he announced plans to fight again and become a Canadian champion.

“I’ve been in the ring with Tyson, all these guys, and I’m telling you, I feel better now than I did before,” he said.

His words were eerily similar to what we have heard from Tyson and Evander Holyfield recently.

Except Razor followed him: There were sinister signs in his first fight, 51, against Raymond Olubowale, 44. Razor was knocked down, climbed, and won in the fifth round. It was not a statement to worry the division elite, as it was doing 30 years earlier.

He won a majority decision in six rounds just two months later to establish his challenge for Dillon Carman’s Canadian heavyweight title.

His wife and manager, Tritcha, warned: “If you look at the heavyweight division, there is a missing link and he is the missing link.”

Razor insisted: “You see, the key to boxing is that if they don’t knock you out, you’re doing well. If they hit you in the head, then you have to go find something else to do.”

“If you take care of your body, train and stay in physical condition, it has nothing to do with age. That is what I want to demonstrate, and it will be very, very sad if in fact it turns out that I am wrong.”

He was wrong.

1:51

Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson III? Veteran heavyweights, in their 50s, could meet at a charity expo, Holyfield says.

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Lennox Lewis knocked out Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock in two rounds at Earls Court in 1992.

Lennox Lewis, Razor’s longtime rival, participated in promoting a fight against 29-year-old national champion Carman, who had won eight of his 10 fights. Since then he has been knocked out by three different opponents.

But he shot down Razor in Toronto five years ago, a chilling reminder that boxing is a young man’s sport.

Razor’s attempt to return should be a warning to his companions who talk about doing the same. It started with impressive images of Tyson’s training, looking terrifying.

“I’ve been exercising, I’ve been trying to get in the ring,” said Tyson, 53. “I think I am going to present some exhibitions and get in shape.

“I want to go to the gym and get in shape so I can put on three or four round exhibits for some charities and whatnot.”

Tyson’s old rival, Holyfield, 57, told him Sky Sports News: “If we can solve something that works for everyone, then it is win-win-win.”

Sure enough, Lennox Lewis, 54, also tweeted a clue.

Sky Sports’ Johnny Nelson added a perspective: “Once you have had time to reflect and evaluate, you think ‘I could do that’. But it is our mind deceiving us, because when you enter the ring and you face a young man who is not as good as you, technically, but he has more rhythm than you, he will do you every day of the week.

“We have seen Mike Tyson appear in the headlines of the notebooks. And everyone says ‘oh my God, he is the gift’. We are remembering the good times, but we do not remember the end of the race when the body does not” Do not change as fast as it used to. The body didn’t react as fast as it used to. “

The last talk about boxing’s return is likely to be nothing, at best, at charity shows where no significant punches are exchanged. Anyone considering a real return should consider how bad it was for ‘Razor’ Ruddock.