by James Slater – It’s official: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will make the first defence of his title against mandatory challenger and former champ John Ruiz in Manchester, UK on April 3rd. Haye was at a press conference in Manchester earlier today to formally announce the bout. The venue will be The MEN Arena in the city, and Haye is very happy to be fighting there in April.
“It’s been ten years since the heavyweight championship has been fought in Britain,” Haye said today. “Everyone knows I had to go to Germany to take the [WBA] title from Nikolai Valuev. Now it’s time to showcase my skills again in front of the great British public. I’m delighted to have the fight at The MEN Arena. I’ve been there on many nights to watch Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, even Mike Tyson, and the atmosphere was always tremendous.”
As excited as “The Hayemaker” is about the upcoming match, it’s known how a good number of fans are not quite as thrilled at the thought of Haye-Ruiz.. Ruiz, though tough and capable, has been involved in a number of pretty awful-to-watch fights in his time, very much making him “public enemy number-one” in the eyes of some fight fans. Will the April clash also be a stinker? Of course, Haye has no choice but to face “The Quiet Man,” as he would lose his title otherwise, but fans may well stay away in droves when fight night comes – we will have to wait and see.
Haye has promised to get the job done in exciting fashion, saying he plans to take Ruiz out “in style.” But saying it is far easier than doing it, as all Ruiz’ opponents bar David Tua, over fifteen years ago, are only too aware. Haye certainly has no easy first defence.
But as tricky as the fight may be, this does not necessarily mean the fight will be fan-friendly. Still, Sky Sports are hoping the fans will be intrigued by the fight, as they are going to make the bout a pay-per-view attraction on Sky Box Office. Is such a fight really worth a fee of approx £15.00 (around $30.00) though?
Haye managed big numbers last time out, when the British public were enthralled by the very idea of him tackling a man so much bigger and taller than him in Valuev. I’m not sure the Ruiz fight will prove so irresistible, however.
Hopefully, though, in the interest of excitement, Haye will win in April, and then make good his promise to tackle one of the two Klitschko brothers later in the year. That fight would have NO trouble getting the fans to shell out their hard earned cash!