On Friday night, Madoc, Ontario’s Dillon “Big Country” Carman will defend his Canadian heavyweight title against Donovan “Razor” Ruddock.
The fight, which will occur on the Adonis Stevenson vs Thomas Karpency
undercard at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum, will be Carman’s first
high-profile defense of his championship. It is a formative step in the
heavyweight’s nascent career.
Carman won the vacant title in feral style last October against
Quebec City’s Eric Martel Bahoeli. That bout, broadcast live on TSN from
the Mattamy Center in Toronto with George Chuvalo looking on from
ringside, saw both fighters brawl and score knockdowns in an exceedingly
entertaining show. Carman won via technical knockout in the seventh,
when the brave but outgunned Martel succumbed to a devastating
combination and the referee intervened. “Big Country” celebrated as
euphorically as you might expect from someone who’d experienced a
dramatic change in fortune.
His success had come almost out of nowhere. Carman had no idea he
would be competing for a title when he received a phone call from Global
Legacy promoter Les Woods, who had needed a late replacement opponent
for Martel. Despite not having fought in almost a year, and with only a
few weeks to prepare, Carman eagerly signed on and then proved himself
worthy of Woods’ interest. “It was kind of like a movie,” he told The
Fight City.
Carman hammers Martel with a left hand.
That day in Toronto was the culmination of a boxing journey that had
begun on the Texas amateur circuit. Why Texas, rather than Ontario or
Quebec? For a brief period, Carman had lived in Florida, during which he
became aware of an opportunity to compete in the Lone Star state. In
six years he won two state championships, earning valuable experience
against a deep pool of talent. Carman said his decision to turn pro in
Canada was made with his Texan team, who thought that, as a Canadian, it
would be more productive to build his profile at home.
At 29, his professional career, which began in 2011, is still
relatively young, particularly in an era where many heavyweights don’t
reach full maturity until their thirties. Carman is 8-2 with seven
knockouts, and self-identifies as a boxer-puncher who fights
strategically. He is a thinking man, whether inside the ring or out of
it. When asked if the urge to fight is inherent to his personality,
Carman demurs somewhat, describing himself as a rational person not
given to impulsiveness. “I’m definitely a cerebral guy. If I stand for
something, I’m willing to fight for that. [But] I was never just like a
kid to fight anybody.”
Indeed, Carman is a considerate man who provides thoughtful answers
to questions, sprinkling his commentary with witticisms, such as “50 is
the new 30″ in reference to Razor Ruddock’s age. His manner is bereft of
conceit, and he believes his background and disposition make him easier
to relate to for ordinary sports fans. “I’m a small town kid chasing a
dream. I feel like people can relate to that. I don’t have to put a
façade on or any sort of persona. Everything that you see is just me.”
Carman, seen here with Adonis Stevenson, is a relatable guy.
But a pleasant, open disposition, which is fine for polite society,
does little to advance one’s fortunes in the ring. Carman will have to
indulge his more violent instincts Friday night, when he meets a man who
twice fought a pre-prison Mike Tyson and is listed among The Ring’s 100 Greatest Punchers.
It is a fight some aren’t taking seriously on account of Ruddock’s
age. He is 51, even older than Bernard Hopkins, and prior to the first
of his two comeback bouts last March, he’d been out of the ring for over
14 years. Unsurprisingly, the ravages of time show on his once pristine
physique. Pectoral muscles that formerly resembled armor plates have
been pulled downwards by gravity’s invisible hand. Skin sags, legs and
arms appear less elastic.
