Ruddock Jr vows to never fight in Jamaica again
Published:Wednesday | November 15, 2023 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
DONOVAN RUDDOCK JR was extremely disappointed that his welterweight matchup against Juzier Heron at Saturday’s Rumble in the Sun undercard fight ended in a draw.
Ruddock Jr, the son of the legendary former Canadian boxing champion, Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock, who fought against James ‘Lights Out’ Toney in the feature bout on the night, believes he was the clear winner and insists that it will be his first and last fight in Jamaica.
“I felt I outboxed him completely. I threw more jabs than him, I had ring generalship and I kept turning him. I caught him with more cleaner shots.
So what was the fight judged off? I had more ring generalship and effective aggressiveness and clean effective punches and that is what boxing is about.
“I had more clean punches and my defence was better. So how did I get a draw. I don’t get it,” he complained to b.
“This is the last time I will fight in Jamaica for sure. I am not coming back. They don’t understand real boxing. I believe I am being judged wrong because of my father’s name. If I did not have the Ruddock name, they would have given me the fight.”
According to Ruddock Jr, his confident personality is a big turn-off for many, but said he has no intention of changing who he is, and that if he is to ever box in the island again, it would have to be with international judges.
“I know how they felt because I came in a little cocky. But I am not changing my personality for no one. That’s who I am. But I am not coming back to Jamaica to fight. I appreciate the opportunity from my sister and my father.
“I would only consider it if they have judges from outside of Jamaica. I don’t want judges that are biased, because I won this fight. I believes I was the unanimous winner,” he continued.
The matchup was the most intense fight on the card, with both boxers giving as good as they got.
However, Ruddock Jr landed some very solid blows on his local-based counterpart. But in the end, the fight was judged a tie after two of the three judges scored the match at 38-38, 38-38, while the third gave Heron a 39-37 win.
According to the 34-year-old, Ruddock Jr, commonly called DJ, it took a lot of effort to make the weight for the fight and he believes this is an indication of his professionalism.
“I will have to get back and re-evaluate myself. My stamina wasn’t up to par because this was short notice. I only had a week and a half training and I had to cut down from 160 to 147 (pounds), and I killed myself to get to that weight because I do believe in professionalism. So that is why I went the extra mile to get under 147 to show how professional I am with the sport.”
Meanwhile, secretary general of the Jamaica Boxing Association (JBA) Leroy Brown, when asked about Ruddock Jr’s contention, only offered that the boxer’s comments should not be taken seriously.