Donovan “Razor” Ruddock set for shock ring return

[TheTeddyBear]

By James SlaterCanada’s Donovan “Razor” Ruddock has not boxed since way back in October of 2001, yet the big-hitting former contender best known for his two losing wars with Mike Tyson is, incredibly, set to fight again this month. According to a news piece in The Toronto Sun, the 51-year-old has been granted a licence by The Ontario Athletic Commission and will fight a six-rounder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on the 28th of this month, on a card that will be topped by featherweight Logan McGuinness taking on Luis Armando Suarez.Apparently Ruddock has dropped down from approx 300 pounds to a trim-looking 235 pounds, thanks in part to a vegan diet, and will likely face 44-year-old Raymond Olubowale, 10-6-1(7) on the 28th. Ruddock, who says he is inspired by George Foreman’s successful 1990’s comeback, says he will get past Olubowale and then look to fight for the Canadian title.“I went to the doctor and he said my blood pressure was kind of high,” Ruddock told The Toronto Sun at the end of February. “He said I had to exercise and watch my diet. I walked out of his front door weighing 300-pounds and as of that day I stopped eating everything and I started exercising. It’s a challenge [coming back] and I love challenges. What am I supposed to do, fade away? That’s for regular people. I’m not regular. I want to be different. I train every single day. I found the fountain of youth. I feel like a million dollars.”Ruddock had been set to make a ring return in 2012, yet the fight never got off the ground (happily, according to the critics). But now, Ruddock – who holds a 38-5-1 (29) record and was, in the 1990s a top contender who also fought former or future champions such as Mike Dokes, Tommy Morrison and Lennox Lewis – has found a promoter willing to put him on his card in Don MacDonald, who feels “Razor” will surprise the many critics who have heard abut the former contender’s seemingly crazy idea of boxing again. While Gary Freedman, who is Ruddock’s official promoter, told the newspaper how he hopes Ken Hayashi of the Ontario Commission will go ahead and approve Olubowale as the opponent for March 28th.If Ruddock cannot get past fellow Canadian Olubowale, the comeback will almost certainly fall at the first hurdle, the thinking in Ruddock’s camp goes.Boxing has seen more than its fair share of unlikely comebacks over the years, and “Razor’s” will be up there with the most surprising, should it actually come to fruition this time.