Ruiz left wondering if King's really in his corner

BERLIN -- Early yesterday morning, Don King was crowing, ''Options? That's my middle name." Not far away, his fighter, a forlorn-looking John Ruiz, appeared to be out of them.

It was about an hour after Ruiz had been dethroned as World Boxing Association heavyweight champion by a nondescript Russian emigre named Nikolai Valuev, a bear of a man with minimal talent but the good fortune of fighting in Germany for a powerful German promoter, Wilfried Sauerland. Despite much evidence to the contrary at Max Schmeling Halle Saturday night, two of the judges scored the bout for Valuev while the third saw it a draw, leaving Ruiz out in the cold but his promoter in his usual position -- on top of the boxing world.

Ruiz and his manager, Norman Stone, were shocked to learn after the decision was announced -- to much booing and whistling -- that when the match was made, King negotiated a deal that gave him 50 percent of Valuev for his next four fights. Those fights very likely would be considerably more lucrative for King than what he could have made with 100 percent of Ruiz as a one-quarter world champion, because the German boxing market is booming for someone like Valuev while the United States market has not proven so for Ruiz, despite his twice having won the world title.

Ruiz even believes it has been his presence as one of the champions that has prevented a unification tournament among the four titleholders, out of fear he might somehow win all the belts yet still not be a pleasing television presence because of his inelegant style. Whatever the truth of that, Ruiz and Stone believe King's interest in Valuev had something to do with the judges' scorecards not agreeing with the crowd or most other ringside observers. King, not surprisingly, tried to imply any such thoughts were preposterous.

''That's stupid," King said. ''I had 100 percent of [Evander] Holyfield when Ruiz lost to him and I got him a rematch. Nobody was complaining about options then. You can't help the loser without having the winner. But you don't make many people amenable to doing anything to help you when you start casting [aspersions], either. To denigrate the honesty of Wilfried Sauerland is erroneous thinking."

Considering that Germany is well known as the wrong place for foreigners seeking a fair decision, King's words seemed a bit disingenuous, to say the least, but they fit the decision that had just come down.

And that King stands to make more money owning 50 percent of Valuev than 100 percent of Ruiz was obvious by the fact his title fight with Valuev was shown to a wide audience on the equivalent of public television in Germany but had no outlet in the US.

Before dawn, King had received a call from rival promoter Bob Arum, who now handles King's former fighter and reigning World Boxing Council champion Hasim Rahman, about the possibility of a unification fight with Valuev, according to King. There also was talk of a showdown between Valuev and former World Boxing Organization champion Wladimir Klitschko, who made his name fighting in Germany and remains a huge sporting celebrity there but who never has wanted anything to do with Ruiz.

''The Dutchland [Deutschland] is fast becoming the mecca of heavyweight boxing," King said. ''I'm not into second-guessing the judges. Nikolai Valuev is ready to unify. He's thrown down the gauntlet."

So did Ruiz and Stone, but it was one of a different kind.

''Only in boxing can you be robbed without a gun," Ruiz said.

''Back in America, you hear this sort of stuff -- if you don't knock out a guy in Germany, you get robbed," Stone added. ''It was an awful, awful decision."

Sauerland quickly tired of such talk, finally challenging Stone's assertions.

''He's well known for this kind of behavior," Sauerland said of Stone. ''It's not the first time he's misbehaved. I don't know what his problem is."

''What's the problem?" Stone said. ''Everybody says that when they come over here. What's the problem?"

''Look at your fighter's face," Sauerland countered, insisting the shiner around Ruiz's right eye implied the decision had been fair and accurate. ''I don't think anybody wants to see your fighter again."

Certainly the power brokers will not make it easy for Ruiz to reappear in a high-profile fight or get another title shot any time soon. HBO Sports long has been interested in a unification tournament involving Klitschko, Rahman, IBF champion Chris Byrd, and perhaps WBO titleholder Lamon Brewster or top contender James Toney. Never did it want Ruiz involved, but with the 7-foot, 323-pound Valuev now wearing the WBA belt, it would be far more likely to financially support a three-fight, two-night tourney matching the four champions first, followed by a unification title fight, with perhaps someone like Klitschko, long a favorite of the network, in the mix.

Where does that leave Ruiz? Not in a good position. Certainly not in the strong one King now finds himself in because of Valuev's victory, even though he's lost Rahman to Arum and is having his promotional contract with Byrd challenged in court.

As for Valuev, he remained impassive throughout the controversy, ignoring the boos and Stone's insistence the belt had been stolen by Valuev's promoters.

''I'm more than happy with this," Valuev said. ''I worked 12 years for this moment. I'm used to booing. The crowd always cheers the short guy and I'm usually taller. I'm not thinking about being the first Russian heavyweight champion. I'm thinking about how to improve and win more titles."

Meanwhile, all Ruiz was thinking about was finding some way to force King to do what their contract says he is supposed to do -- promote Ruiz's interests.

''Now we'll see if Don King is my promoter or not," Ruiz said early yesterday morning. At about the same moment, the bombastic King was across the room talking about another fighter he now promotes. A newly crowned undefeated champion with a future and no past. A fighter named Nikolai Valuev.