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A Don King release
through the FIGHTER pipeline

The "Battle for Supremacy" heavyweights at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 13.

We have a ton of heavyweights with big-name trainers on this card.
All the information and other anecdotes you should like.

Tickets priced at $800, $500, $300, $150 and $75.
Previews to you f r e e !

JOHN "The Quiet Man" RUIZ
Two-Time, and Current WBA Champion
Methuen, Mass.
39-4-1 (28 KOs)
Training Site: Fernwood Hotel and Resort, Bushkill, Penn. (Poconos)
Trainer and Manager: Norman "Stoney" Stone, who has been with Ruiz since he was an amateur.
Cornermen: Bobby Covino, Alex Riveria, Bryan Stone and Eddie Ruiz
(brother)
Training Schedule: 8 a.m. run, 2 p.m. weights. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.: training,
evening sparring and gym workout.

"There are lots of great heavyweights on this show," Ruiz said. "This is
the perfect chance to see for ourselves, and for the public to see, who really has the talent and is the best."

On Preparation (according to trainer Norman "Stoney" Stone): "Johnny is
already in great shape and acting like a caged lion. He won't even go out for his meals. We're training for Golota with different sparring
partners.
Even the guys that specialize in illegal tactics. We will be ready and
Johnny will show everyone he's The Man at the top of the heavyweight heap.
I have already hired two psychiatrists to try to explain to me why Golota
does the things he does in the ring."

"Bear" of a Tale: During his daily early-morning run in the Poconos on
Oct. 6, Ruiz was joined by fellow Bostonian boxer Angel Vargas when they spotted a bear 25 feet up the trail. "Thank God that bear wasn't hungry because we just turned and ran the other way," Ruiz said.

Apparently, the wildlife population in the Poconos is strong, because Ruiz and other camp members have been dodging deer as well as bears while jogging on a four-mile loop they describe as "hills, hills and hills."

What do Ruiz and Golota Have in Common Besides a Brawling Style? Neither Ruiz nor Golota are boxing "fans." Both do not follow the sport, rarely watching other fighters or fights unless they are called upon to do so for promotional purposes. For these two "lunchpail" brawlers, boxing is where they "punch the clock" to make a living.

vs.

ANDREW GOLOTA
Polish Strongman and No.5 Contender
Warsaw, Poland, now fighting out of Chicago
38-4-1 (31 KOs)
Training Site: Windy City Gym, Chicago
Trainer: Sam Colonna, who has also trained Angel Manfredy, Angel
Hernandez, Vaughn Bean and many other Chicago-based fighters.

Big Pole Has Lucky Charm: Colonna trained Golota for his first 22 fights
and for his last three fights. Golota has never lost a fight when Colonna has been his trainer.

"Andrew and I have a certain understanding," Colonna said. "A fighter and a trainer have to know what is expected of each other. In our case, we have that because you have to understand Andrew Golota. He's different than any other fighter I have ever trained. I think I get more out of him than anyone else. When I see him going the wrong way, I'm the one guy that can get him to snap out of it.

"In this fight with Ruiz, he will be tested. Ruiz is difficult and he's
physical. Byrd is one thing, Ruiz is another. Ruiz might spin you, hit
behind your head, hit you on your hips or hold you. You know he's going to try to get Andrew to snap. My job is to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I am proud to be part of the show and I want to be part of something that unifies a real champion," Golota said. Regarding Ruiz: "Nothing personal, Johnny, I love you. You too, Stoney. But you're in my way and it's going to go my way November 13th."

CHRIS BYRD
IBF Heavyweight Champion
Flint, Mich., now fighting out of Las Vegas .
36-2-1 (20 KOs)
Training Site: Camp Byrd in Las Vegas (gym in carriage house behind home)
Trainer: Joe and Rose Byrd, (mother and father) Patrick Byrd (brother)
Camp Coordinator: Tracy Byrd (wife) Byrd rises at 5:30 a.m. daily to run (current Las Vegas morning temperature: 60º); weight training at 9 a.m. (gym in basement of home); 1 p.m. sparring and boxing sessions (gym in carriage house behind home). Byrd's sparring partners stay in four-bedroom guesthouse attached to backyard gym (it's not Extended Stay, they call it, "Extend-A-Camp").

Not Hatfields and McCoys: The Byrd and McCline families are very close.
McCline considers Byrd his idol, and after the couples met in 2001 (after
McCline's fight with Michael Grant), they have remained close and have
even stayed at each other's home, sharing babysitting duties. Byrd's wife, Tracy, and McCline's wife, Tina, have become even closer friends than the boxers. Tracy says they "call each other just because!"

Chris sent McCline's baby daughter, Samantha a toy car (Volkswagen Beetle) for her first birthday, and Tina McCline said, "I never thought Chris would buy her first car." For now, the families are not speaking to each other and avoiding all contact. "I hate it but it has to be this way," Tracy Byrd said.

"Jameel is my friend and we tried to avoid fighting each other," Byrd
said. "But now that we are fighting I have to treat him like any other
opponent-I want to hurt and beat him. There won't be any hesitation on my part to knock-him out. Actually I would love that! I fought my brother Patrick in the amateurs, and although I love him, we fought like dogs. It doesn't make a difference to me. I fight my heart out - and may the best man win."

vs.

JAMEEL "Big Time" McCLINE
Leading Available Contender
Port Jefferson, N.Y.
31-3-3 (19 KOs)
Training Site: The Olympus Gym in Hackensack, N.J.
Trainer: Jimmy Glenn, who trained Floyd Patterson, Joey Gamache, John Mekins and "Irish" Bobby Cassidy (father of Newsday's Bobby Cassidy) and owner of New York City's legendary boxing watering hole Jimmy's Corner. When questioned about the fighters he has trained, Glenn said, "If you come to my bar, I'll tell you about all of the other champions that I have trained."

"This is a huge card," McCline said. 'When I was a kid, I used to run the
streets of New York City. Now I am fighting at the Garden. It's a dream
come true. Chris is my friend and I respect him as that and as the
champion he is. I'm looking forward to the fight and will be victorious.

"A couple years ago I was asked who my boxing idols were and I named two," McCline said. "Riddick Bowe, because for a big man he was one of the first guys to show athleticism, and Chris Byrd because he's a little guy who will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. He's shows a lot of heart and wonderful skill and he's just someone I look up to. When I got to know him as a person he was even better than what I thought of him before.

"So here I am fighting a great person, a great fighter and a great man at
Madison Square Garden and it's 10 years to the date since I got released from prison-so it's all destiny. It's a beautiful thing to be involved in right now."

--- COME AGAIN SUNDAY.
Four more Heavyweights ----