Give Your All to Finish Well

From 'Razor' Ruddock's Perspective

Khen Lim




Ruddock in white trousers (Image source: boxrec.com)

On June 28 1991, boxing fans were in for a treat. Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas was hosting the 12-round championship bout between Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock and ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. This was a rerun of a previous fight that ended in controversy in which the referee was forced to stop the fight as Tyson was incessantly pummelling Ruddock like a mad man. This time, the rematch would take on a dramatically different complexion.

The first three rounds were evenly matched. Punch for punch, Ruddock was the equal of Tyson. In the fourth round, Ruddock suffered from a broken jaw and everyone was expecting him to become more guarded and to fight soft. But that was not the case. Ruddock came out of each round with guns a-blazing. He went the whole twelve rounds nursing a broken jaw but you wouldn’t have known it by the way he fought.

Against the world’s most devastating puncher and mortal destroyer (at that time), Ruddock proved he was equal to the task. Only the judges’ technical decision gave the fight in favour to Tyson. But you wouldn’t have thought so if you saw Ruddock take the fight to his adversary.

The real winner in many people’s eyes was ‘Razor’ Ruddock because he never gave up. Against the worst possible odds nursing a broken jaw, he endured to the final bell and finished well. He overcame every hurdle thrown at him and he saved his best for the last.

We all can aspire to be like ‘Razor’ Ruddock. We can be like him, fighting the good fight and enduring to the very last minute. And finishing well. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul’s use of ‘you’ is in the second person plural, meaning you all. Paul is saying, ‘All of you run in such a way that you all may win.’

See that? Unlike a typical foot race, we don’t have to compete against each other because in the end, every Christian can win the ultimate imperishable prize.

And that’s the brilliant good news because after all, there will always be someone faster, mightier, shrewder or smarter than you and me. But hey, that’s okay because you and I are not running against one another or the rest of our Christian brethren throughout the living world.

Thank heavens for that. Instead we are running against opportunities God gives us, not what He gives other Christians. We are competing against our ownselves.