Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock

"The Fight of the Year"
Date	March 18, 1991
Location	The Mirage in Paradise, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	None
Tale of the tape
Mike Tyson Donovan Ruddock Nickname "Iron" "Razor" Hometown Catskill, New York, US Toronto, Ontario, CAN Pre-fight record 39–1 25–1–1 Recognition WBA/WBC/IBF No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight WBA/WBC/IBF No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight

Mike Tyson vs. Donovan Ruddock, billed as "The Fight of the Year", was a professional boxing match contested on March 18, 1991.

Background

After losing the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship to James "Buster" Douglas on February 11, 1990, Mike Tyson embarked on a comeback hopes of regaining his title. First, he knocked out 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and former amateur opponent, Henry Tillman in the first round. Then, he met up-and-coming prospect Alex Stewart, whose 26 victories had all come by way of knockout. Despite Stewart's impressive resume, Tyson picked up another easy victory by way of 1st round technical knockout, knocking down Stewart three times in only 147 seconds. After those two victories, a match between Tyson, who was the number one ranked Heavyweight, and Donovan "Razor" Ruddock, who was ranked number two, was agreed upon. The two men originally were set to face each other on November 18, 1989 in Edmonton with Tyson's Undisputed Championship on the line. However, the fight was postponed and ultimately cancelled because Tyson was suffering from costochondritis^[1] On December 9, 1990, the day after Tyson defeated Stewart, Tyson promoter Don King announced Ruddock would indeed be Tyson's next opponent while also announcing that Tyson and Showtime had agreed to a blockbuster long term pay-per-view deal that would pay Tyson $120 million.^[2]

The Fight

The fight was a hard fought one, with both men hitting each other with power punches throughout the fight. Early in the second round, Tyson scored a controversial knockdown. After being hit with a left hook to the shoulder, Ruddock tripped over Tyson's right leg and fell to the canvas. Referee Richard Steele awarded Tyson with the knockdown. Shortly after, Tyson would illegally hit Ruddock with a right hand as the two men were being separated by Steele, though Steele did not deduct a point from Tyson. Ruddock would suffer another knockdown late in round 3. After hitting Tyson with a straight left hand with less than 10 seconds to go in the round, Tyson countered with a powerful left hook to the side of Ruddock's head that again sent Ruddock to the canvas. Ruddock was able to get up at the count of 8 as the round ended. The fight would come to an end with less than a minute remaining in round 7. Tyson was able to hit Ruddock with a six-punch combination. Though Ruddock remained on his feet and was seemingly healthy enough to continue the fight, Steele stepped between the two fighters and stopped the fight, awarding Tyson the victory by technical knockout.

The decision enraged Ruddock's corner with Ruddock's brother and manager, Delroy storming the ring to confront Steele. Tyson's trainer Richie Giachetti attempted to restrain Delroy but a melee ensued that also involved Ruddock's promoter Murad Muhammad. Mirage security had to break up the scuffle and escort Steele to safety.^[3]

References