RAZOR RUDDOCK, 51, is now two fights, and two wins, into his unlikely comeback. Having out-pointed 37-year-old Eric Barrak over six-rounds this past Friday, Ruddock says he now plans to box again in September.
Now 40-5-1(30), the former contender speaks here with Boxing News:
Q: Congratulations on the win on Friday (May 22) over Eric Barrak. How pleased were you with your performance?
Razor Ruddock: “Thank you. I was very happy. He was very defensive because he didn’t want to get knocked out. You can’t get them all out. But he was not a bad fighter at all.”
Q: Were you ever hurt in the fight, in the second-round for example?
R.R: “No, not at all. He came out very fast and I had to be very careful because he was throwing haymakers. But no, I was never at all woozy or anything like that. Let’s see what they’re [the critics] gonna say about this one.”.”
Q: And will you be going straight back in the gym, as was the case after the last fight you had in March?
R.R: “I ran 8K this morning (laughs). That’s the key, being consistent. I have knowledge and I have wisdom now, and being consistent with training is what it takes. You have to be right on top of it at all times. I aim and I hope to get better and better after each fight.”
Q: When are you aiming to fight again?
R.R: “Hopefully in September, but I really don’t know yet. I’ve challenged the Canadian heavyweight champion (28-year-old Dillon Carman) but he doesn’t want any part of me. But if I can get three or four fights in this year, I’ll be happy. I’m taking it one step at a time and I’m not trying to rush anything.”
Q: You haven’t lost a fight in 20 years…
R.R: (laughs). I know, man.
Q: If the worst came and you did lose one of your comeback fights, say on a cut or by decision…
R.R: (interrupting) It depends. But I’m not worried. I have a very good vibe about this and if one day I don’t have that vibe any more…….But doing this, it’s more than just boxing for me, with the training and the discipline, it allows me to live a clean life, with no drinking or any bad things.”
Q: Do you plan to box all your future fights in Canada?
R.R: “Yeah, I want to fight my fights in Canada. I want to finish my career at home.”
Q: Do you ever sit and watch any of your classic fights?
R.R: “I do, but I don’t really have time. And I’m looking to create new memories, not live in the past. And you know, too many people put too much emphasis on age. But age really is just a number. I’m very much a free spirit and these people who open their traps and can only say I’m too old, I say shut the f**k up! I mean, they have no experience [of boxing] or any documentation to say I cannot do this. So what do they know? And if I’m too old, what does that say about the guys I have beaten? They should instantly quit and go and hide in a cave, right! Look at Bernard [Hopkins], they all said, ‘Oh, what’s he doing fighting this guy [Sergei Kovalev]?’ Yet he [Kovalev] couldn’t stop him, so what does that say about him, does that mean that he [Kovalev] is no good in not being able to knock out a man of 50?”
Q: Ideally, and in shocking the world as you have said you will do, and are doing – when would you like to challenge for the world title?
R.R: “Well, I hope to get better and better after each fight. I want to keep fighting and winning, until people demand I fight Klitschko or one of these guys. I know what wins fights: experience, strength and conditioning. Not age.”
