By Shawn Krest

Don’t look now, but by the end of the weekend, John Ruiz just might be heavyweight champion of the world.

Again.

Roundly decried as the worst of a bad batch of heavyweight champions three years ago, Ruiz now has a chance to be called the worst three-time champion in the history of the division.

The Quiet Man takes on gigantic Russian Nikolai Valuev Saturday night, in a rematch of the bout that ended his second reign as WBA champion. The bout will take place in Max Schmeling Halle, the same arena where Valuev won a controversial majority decision two and a half years ago.

It will also be Ruiz’s third trip to Germany in his last five fights, continuing a self-imposed exile from the United States. Since leaving Madison Square Garden without his title in a mid-2005 loss to James Toney that was later nullified due to Toney’s positive drug test, Ruiz has fought less than four minutes in the U.S., blowing out Otis Tisdale in between dates in Germany and Mexico.

Thus far, life as an ex-pat has not been kind to Ruiz. In addition to the controversial Valuev decision, Ruiz dropped a split-decision to Ruslan Chagaev in his return trip to the Rhineland.

Many American fighters have complained about sketchy decisions from German judges. Certainly as champion, Ruiz didn’t get much benefit of the doubt in the Valuev fight. In three of the final four rounds, judges turned in 10-10 scorecards. Had the judges made a decision, and had they gone in Ruiz’s favor, he could have salvaged a title-saving draw.

After the fight, a bitter Ruiz complained, “Boxing is the only sport where you can get robbed without a gun,” and threatened to protest the decision. While no evidence of wrongdoing was found, it’s worth noting that the fight was Valuev’s eleventh straight bout held in Germany, and his previous fight (over Larry Donald) also went to majority decision. When Chagaev took a close decision over Ruiz in the next bout, it was his seventh straight fight in Germany and tenth of eleven. He beat Vladimir Virchis by majority decision two fights earlier and would take the title from Valuev by another majority decision in his next bout—also held in Germany.

Ruiz returns to the scene of the alleged crime, displaying the same fearlessness that typified his championship tenure. He was the only heavyweight willing to take on Roy Jones Junior and the first to give James Toney a shot. While his clutching and grabbing style didn’t win any fans, it’s hard to question his grit.

“Sometimes you have to work for the respect, but I’ve been working very hard and fighting top notch fighters,” he said before the Toney fight. “I’m fighting guys that they predicted to be the next heavyweight champion. I beat them, and then they just change their whole outlook on what they were thinking of this other guy. I just get the backlash of people who would rather put me down than give me credit.”

Against Valuev, who would become the largest man to ever hold the heavyweight crown, it was Ruiz that was the aggressor, charging in with an aggressiveness never seen in his fights on American soil. In the three fights since, the aggressive Ruiz has remained. His second-round knockout of Tisdale was Ruiz’s fastest since 1996, and after following up with a win over Jameel McCline, Ruiz is riding his first two-fight win streak since 2004.

Wit h his TV appearances vanishing along with his title, and his nearly three years of exile, it’s easy for American fight fans to forget about Ruiz. However, it’s possible that he might be the country’s best chance to break the foreign stranglehold on the heavyweight title.

Since Shannon Briggs lost his share of the heavyweight crown to Sultan Ibragimov in June, 2007, three American fighters have received title shots: Lamon Brewster, Evander Holyfield, and Tony Thompson. Two of the three were knocked out, and the third will turn 46 later this year. In the year plus before Briggs’ short stint as champion, Owen Beck, Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Calvin Brock and Ray Austin all received title shots.

With Toney and Hasim Rahman failing to impress, and Brewster and Andrew Golota back at20career square one, again, Ruiz is not just the best American fighter to challenge for the title in recent years, but the only American heavyweight on the horizon who looks capable of giving any of the four champions a fight.

Funny things happen to an ex-pat’s reputation after spending some time in Europe. Just ask international superstars David Hasselhoff and Jerry Lewis. The last time America saw John Ruiz, he was an immensely unpopular champion with an unmarketable style. If things go well Saturday night, he might undergo an image rehabilitation that would put the Nutty Professor and the Hoff to shame.

All the ingredients are there. In an Olympic year where the U.S. boxing team disappointed, the role of the heavyweight division’s American hope will generate a rooting int erest among many fans. As a three-time champion, Ruiz will have a level of achievement that, despite the criticism of the sport’s “alphabet titles,” merits respect.

Ruiz also seems more cognizant of the need to entertain. “When I first started this journey to becoming the world champion, I thought just by fighting alone would actually make me a commodity,” he said three years ago. “But it seems like at this point in my career, I finally realized that you have to trash talk to actually get some attention.”

The statement corresponded with Ruiz’s change in style, both in the ring and out of it. He has shown a willingness to mix it up against recent opponents, which is the fastest way into the hearts of bo xing fans. He also seems to have undergone a slight makeover. Gone is the Grizzly Adams beard and long curly locks that he had in some of his later title defenses, replaced by a tightly trimmed and well-groomed look. Whether intentional or not, the new look makes Ruiz appear less like a lumberjack and serves to emphasize the Massachusetts born and bred fighter’s Puerto Rican heritage.

True to his name, the Quiet Man has never made a point of emphasizing his heritage, but in a sport with a huge Latin American audience, the first Latino heavyweight champion in the sport’s history should have more of a following. Reaching out to the sport’s Spanish speaking fans, even subtly, may be Ruiz’s ticket to acceptance in the U.S. It’s probably no coincidence that his only recent bout in North America took place in Mexico.

John Ruiz has traveled the world in recent fights. He’s been off the American fight fan’s radar. But make no mistake: John Ruiz hasn’t gone anywhere. Partly through design, and partly through good timing, he may be on the verge of taking by storm the country that all but kicked him out.

All he needs to do is get past a 300 pound, seven-foot obstacle on Saturday night.