Did John Ruiz beat Evander Holyfield for the WBA title or did just get promoted after winning the interm title?

Answer 1

short answer: Yes, Ruiz beat Holyfield for the WBA title.

Long Answer:

After Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield for the Undisputed (i.e., WBC + IBF + WBA) World Heavyweight Championship in late 1999, the WBA mysteriously ordered Lewis to defend the title against obscure Don King fighter Ruiz, their #1-ranked contender, but Lewis refused. Though he had been undefeated since a loss against David Tua in 1996, the level of competition Ruiz had been facing was suspect and the only name he had beaten was a nearly 40 year old Tony Tucker.

Ruiz and his management sued, claiming that WBA rules entitled him to a title shot. A judge agreed, but rather than face Ruiz in a bout that was seen as commercially unattractive, Lewis instead fought Michael Grant, considered to be a very worthy contender at the time having knocked out a series of recognized 'name' opponents on HBO. After learning of this, the judge decreed that upon entering the ring against Grant on April 29, 2000, Lewis would automatically forfeit the WBA Title.

Ruiz fought former champion Holyfield to fill the vacancy on August 12, 2000, losing by unanimous decision (this result made Holyfield the first to win a world heavyweight title on four separate occasions). Many observers and boxing reporters felt that the underdog Ruiz had done enough to win.

Due to this controversial decision, the WBA ordered an immediate rematch in early 2001, and Ruiz won the WBA Championship in a slightly less-close unanimous decision - controversial as Ruiz had been decked by a Holyfield body shot and rolled around on the floor holding his groin for over a minute. The replay shows that the blow was a legal bodyshot, not remotely near Ruiz's crotch, and should have been scored a KO10 victory for Holyfield.