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Hire and book JOHN RUIZ Keynote Speaker for Your Events and Former Two-Time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Former two-time world heavyweight boxing champion John Ruiz is of Puerto Rican heritage. He spent several years of his youth in his mother’s hometown of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico and grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts. As an amateur boxer, he competed in the 1991 World Championships representing the United States and also participated in the US Olympic Boxing Trials. Ruiz turned professional in mid-1992 and earned his first professional championship, the World Boxing Council International Heavyweight title in 1995. This was followed by a winning a second regional title, the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight championship in 1997.
After compiling a 36-3 record, John Ruiz earned a World Boxing Association heavyweight title shot against legendary champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield on August 12, 2000, but Ruiz lost a razor-thin decision. He got a chance to avenge the loss the following year after the WBA ordered a direct rematch due to the controversy surrounding the decision in the first bout.
A more poised and confident Ruiz entered the ring for the rematch, which was punctuated by a stunning right cross in round 11 that sent the legendary Holyfield crumbling to the mat. Ruiz joined Riddick Bowe as one of the only two fighters in history to knock Holyfield down. Holyfield wobbled to his feet and literally held onto Ruiz for the remainder of the round to survive. When the scorecards were tabulated after the fight, Ruiz emerged as the new WBA champ by a unanimous decision of 116-110, 115-111, and 114-111, becoming the first Latino world heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Shortly thereafter, United States President George W. Bush invited Ruiz to the White House to congratulate him on his victory and Puerto Rican Governor Sila Calderon presented a medal of honor to Ruiz for becoming the first Latino world-heavyweight champion in boxing history.
John Ruiz has always identified with his Puerto Rican heritage, and thousands of his fans welcomed him “home” along a parade route from the city of San Juan to Sabana Grande. Normally a two-hour drive, it took Ruiz nine hours to reach his former home as thousands of fans lined the highway to catch a glimpse of him. Fans in the larger towns of Ponce and Yauco crowded the roadway and brought the motorcade to a crawl.
Ruiz successfully defended his WBA title against Evander Holyfield and Kirk Johnson before losing to another legendary champion, Roy Jones, Jr. Ruiz bounced back from that defeat to win the WBA title for a second time against Hasim Rahman in 2003. Ruiz successfully defended his championship with victories over top contenders Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golata and a “no-contest” over James Toney (who tested positive for steroids after the fight).
In 2005, Ruiz lost his title to Nicolay Valuev in a controversial decision. He would go 3-2 in his next five bouts, and lost to WBA champion David Haye in his final fight last year. Ruiz retired from professional boxing soon after his title challenge to Haye. His final record is 44-9-1 with 30 KO’s, including victories over three former world heavyweight champions (Holyfield, Rahman, and Tony Tucker).
Ruiz has now turned his attention to training the next generation of boxers by recently opening a new boxing gym in the Boston area. Ruiz often takes time to visit schools and colleges to speak with young people about the values and benefits of hard work and athleticism.
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Having helped hundreds of clients, we’re your best speakers agency and agent for booking and hiring professional sports speaker John Ruiz, so call us today at 888-655-4575 and we’ll be happy to help you have a successful event! We can help you book or hire any keynote sports speakers you want in addition to the ones you see here on our site. We are not the exclusive speakers bureau agency for any speakers on this site, but we’ll help you have knockout event.
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