ALL 51 years of Donovan Ruddock made a winning return to the ring this past Saturday in his adopted Canada, getting up from a knockdown to halt the huge, 6โ7โ Raymond Olubowale via fifth-round TKO.
In improving to 39-5-1(30) and having fought for the first time since 2001, โRazorโ says he felt great and is now targeting the Canadian heavyweight title.
Here, the man who says he โshocked the worldโ on March 28th looks back on his comeback and ahead to future bouts:
Q: Congratulations on the win last Saturday, Razor! How did it feel being back in the ring after so long?
Razor Ruddock: โI felt great, I felt great. I canโt wait for the next fight (laughs).โ
Q: And do you have any idea yet when, and against who, that may be?
R.R: โWe are in negotiations right now, to go for the Canadian title. I will win it back, for the third time.โ
Q: You were bouncing around on your toes against Olubowale, did you feel any rust?
R.R: โLet me tell you, I know what it takes to be a fighter, and 90 per cent of the world, they donโt know. If you have no legs, you cannot make it in the ring; the first time you get touched you go down and you cannot come back from it [if you have no legs]. I have spent seven years getting my legs strong, with lots of running. I ran eight miles yesterday. Let me tell you, age is just a number. And let me ask you, was the fight stopped too soon?โ
Q: No, I think Olubowaleโs legs had gone. I know he complained about the stoppageโฆ
R.R: โIf Iโd hit him once more, heโd have been carried out on a stretcher. I really believe that.โ
Q: He caught you with some right hands in the fourth-round and even though it looked to me as though he had almost bundled you over, you went down. How badly hurt were you?
R.R: โIโll tell you the truth, I wasnโt hurt. If I was hurt I would tell you. He pushed me down, he leaned on me. He caught me [with some punches] but my legs were not weak at all, otherwise I couldnโt have come back as fast as I did. Come on, for me to have come back and won the fight the way I did, what more do you want? I shocked the world.โ
Q: You did indeed come back in the very next round, knocking him down with two hard left uppercuts. You still have power in that punch, no doubt.
R.R: โOh yeah. But I have a whole arsenal of shots: my smash, my hook, my uppercut, and also my right hand is involved. You know, I could have picked an easier opponent for the fight, as you said, but Iโm not trying to con anyone. In boxing, you cannot con anyone. If you canโt do it, you cannot hide that. I believe in my ability, in my training. My body is ready. Tell me, did I look like Iโd lost anything in the fight?โ
Q: Certainly not any of your punching power, no.
R.R: โI tell you the truth, I had fun. I was very happy with the outcome, with that being my first fight for 14-years. If you look after yourself and you feel confident in your mind, and if you have the strength in your legs – which is the key, it really is – then you can do what you want to do.โ
Q: How much do you know about the current Canadian champion?
R.R: โThe current champion is โBig Country,โ Dillon Carman (8-2 with 7 KOโs). I know him pretty well. I sparred him back in 2010. But right now I donโt want to start anything, I donโt want to start talking and get myself in trouble (laughs). I donโt want to stop anyone from wanting to get in the ring with me. But I will be better the next time, in the next fight. Iโll continue doing my running. As I said, I wouldnโt do this if I didnโt believe I could make it all the way back. Iโm not trying to con anyone.โ
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