On March 3, 2001, John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield met again in an immediate rematch.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 67% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 6 months and 19 days. Holyfield was on a 1-fight win streak with a 59% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 19 days.
John Ruiz defeated Evander Holyfield via unanimous decision in the rematch and wins the WBA title — in his first world-title fight. Ruiz improves his record to 37-4, while Holyfield adds a loss to his record at 37-5-1.
On March 1, 2003, the 31-year-old WBA heavyweight world champion, John Ruiz (38-4-1, 27 KOs), faced a 34-year-old Roy Jones Jr. (47-1, 38 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 62% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 7 months and 2 days. Jones Jr. was on a 13-fight win streak with a 79% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 5 months and 22 days.
Roy Jones Jr. defeated John Ruiz via unanimous decision and wins the WBA title. Jones Jr. improves his record to 48-1, while Ruiz adds a loss to his record at 38-5-1.
On April 17, 2004, the 32-year-old WBA heavyweight world champion, John Ruiz (39-5-1, 27 KOs), faced Fres Oquendo, in a title defense fight.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 60% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 4 days.
John Ruiz stopped Fres Oquendo via TKO in the 11th round of the 12-round world-title fight, and successfully defended his WBA heavyweight title. Ruiz improves his record to 40-5-1 (28 KOs)
On November 13, 2004, the 32-year-old WBA heavyweight world champion, John Ruiz (40-5-1, 28 KOs), faced a 36-year-old Polish boxer Andrew Golota (38-4-1, 31 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 60% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 6 months and 27 days. Golota was on a 0-fight win streak with a 72% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 27 days.
John Ruiz defeated Andrew Golota via unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBA heavyweight title. Ruiz improves his record to 41-5-1, while Golota adds a loss to his record at 38-5-1.
On January 31, 1998, a 26-year-old John Ruiz (31-3, 22 KOs) and a 39-year-old Tony Tucker (56-6, 46 KOs) met in the ring in a heavyweight bout.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 6-fight win streak with a 64% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 7 months and 14 days. Tucker was on a 2-fight win streak with a 74% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 1 month and 15 days.
John Ruiz stopped Tony Tucker via TKO in the 11th round. Ruiz improves his record to 32-3 (23 KOs), while Tucker adds a loss to his record at 56-7.
On December 15, 2001, John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield met again in an immediate rematch.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 65% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 9 months and 12 days. Holyfield was on a -1-fight win streak with a 58% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 9 months and 12 days.
The fight ended in a split decision draw and both the fighters added a draw to their respective records — Ruiz is now 37-4-1 and Holyfield, 37-5-2.
On December 13, 2003, a 31-year-old John Ruiz (38-5-1, 27 KOs) and a 31-year-old Hasim Rahman (35-4-1, 29 KOs) met in the ring in a heavyweight bout.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 61% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 9 months and 12 days. Rahman was on a 0-fight win streak with a 72% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 8 months and 14 days.
John Ruiz defeated Hasim Rahman via unanimous decision in the 12-round heavyweight fight. Ruiz improves his record to 39-5-1, while Rahman adds a loss to his record at 35-5-1.
On May 25, 1994, a 22-year-old John Ruiz (16-1, 9 KOs) and a 29-year-old British boxer Julius Francis (6-0, 3 KOs) met in the ring.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 52% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 28 days. Francis was on a 6-fight win streak with a 50% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 28 days.
John Ruiz stopped Julius Francis via KO in the 4th round. Ruiz improves his record to 17-1 (10 KOs), while Francis adds a loss to his record at 6-1.
On October 25, 1996, a 24-year-old John Ruiz (27-3, 19 KOs) and Nathaniel Fitch met in the ring.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 63% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 7 days.
John Ruiz stopped Nathaniel Fitch via TKO in the 3rd round. Ruiz improves his record to 28-3 (20 KOs)
On August 30, 2008, John Ruiz and Nikolai Valuev met again in a rematch.
Ruiz came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 56% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 22 days. Valuev was on a 2-fight win streak with a 69% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 14 days.
Nikolai Valuev defeated John Ruiz via unanimous decision in the rematch. Valuev improves his record to 49-1, while Ruiz adds a loss to his record at 43-8-1.