People might pick this up more easily if it was in it's own thread :giggle: (I have done the same myself) Anyways, I think it could go either way. Ruddock might be able to keep distance and outbox Mercer, but he was not as good as it as Lennox and Holy, both who had several problems with Ray's aggression. I think I'd lean towards Ruddock on points but it's anyones fight
I can see a lot of people responding in a similar manner to which you have. However I find this position puzzling. To me Ruddock wins this going away. In MMs we are assuming the best versions. At his best Rudock took all of Tyson's bombs. I don't see mercer being able to hurt Ruddock at all. Mercer couldn't put a dent in old man Holmes and only stopped Morrison because Tommy ran out of gas. Up until that point Morrison was winning easily. Ruddock would outbox Mercer clearly. I don't even see it being all that competitive. I think the Lewis-Mercer fight was an anomally, btw. I think that a "boxingology" Lewis of say the Tua or second Rahman fights would utterly dominate Mercer.
It is the best versions yes but still I don't see a one-sided fight for two reasons. First, Mercer probably wouldn't hurt Ruddock, but he never came close of dropping Lennox or Holyfield either and lost very narrow decisions in them. Mercer could be really lazy in the ring, but at his best he did serious work, and since this is best vs best, Mercer would show up hungry too. Second, I think Ruddock's boxing ability is overrated. He didn't outbox too many contenders, his jab was average at best, his movement wasn't fleet. He had the big counter punches, but I don't see him dropping Mercer. It didn't take a professor of a boxer to outbox Mercer (Damiani was doing it before the flukest of KO) but Ruddock rarely showed the ability to outbox people at world level either. So, Ruddock scores enough from outside to take the decision, or Mercer does enough effective work up close to turn it in his favor. I can see both
agREED. Ruddock was pretty average outside of his power. And he gets way too much credit for getting beaten up by Tyson twice. I see Mercer's chin nullifying Ruddock's big shots and Mercer outworking Ruddock for the win.
Good action fight... Could go either way... Ruddock was really a shit boxer frankly... He wasn't anymore skilled than Mercer... I think Mercer can do a lot of work with his jab in this matchup, and when you combine that with his chin, it means a long night for Ruddock... competetive, more eye-catching shots from Ruddock, steadier work and a persistent jab from Mercer, difficult fight to score... I think Ruddock probably gets the nod on a decision by landing enough hard shots to catch the judges' eyes
This means nothing because it comes from a Tyson fan who would like Ruddock to be viewed as better than he really was. Ruddock was not that good. He had a decent chin and could punch...that's about it. He was no more skilled than Mercer. If Ruddock never fought Tyson, you wouldn't be so high on him. I almost feel bad for you...apparently you can't help being so biased.
