Norman “Stoney” Stone calls it quits

WILMINGTON, Mass. (December 22, 2005) – Colorful boxing manager Norman “Stoney” Stone announced his retirement from boxing today from the comfort of his Massachusetts home. Stone had been two-time world heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz’s manager and cutman for the 20 years, dating back to Ruiz’s amateur days.

“I’m done,” Stone said. “I’m tired of boxing and last week’s bad decision was the last straw (Ruiz lost his WBA title in a controversial 12-round majority decision to Nicolay Valuev in Berlin). I’m going to relax with my family and spend a lot of time with my two little grandchildren. I’ll always support Johnny. Even in retirement I’ll be covering his back. I’m sorry if my actions sometimes upset people, but I always had John’s best interests at heart. It was a great ride.”

“I’m sorry to see him go,” Ruiz commented. “We’ve been together for 20 years and it was an up-and-down, rollercoaster ride. It’s going to be tough moving on without him.”