by James Slater – Not too long to go now until exciting, recently crowned WBA heavyweight champion David Haye makes the first defence of his title. And as he has been locked away in training camp getting ready for mandatory challenger and former titilst John Ruiz, Haye has been pushing his body to the limit so as to get it in shape for the “abuse” he says he feels it will have to take on April 3rd.
Haye, in speaking to Sport magazine, spoke of how he is fully expecting a tough fight, a fight much tougher physically than the one Russian giant Nokolai Valuev gave him when he took the title with a November points win. As fans know, Haye came away from that fight with a busted hand, which was a bad enough injury to keep him out of training for a while – but “The Hayemaker” says he’s prepared for “a real war” against Ruiz, one that may well see him get roughed up and even cut..
“It’s going to be harder than the Valuev fight,” Haye said of his upcoming bout. “It’s going to be more of a slugfest and I’m expecting to take some abuse in this one, so I’m just preparing my body for the worst. I know he’s going to try to rough me up. He comes in real heavy with his head, so I’m expecting to get cut at some stage.
“I know it’s going to be a real war so that’s what I’m preparing for.”
As this fight has got closer, it seems to me, more and more fans have begun to give “The Quiet Man” a real chance of snatching the title. When first announced, Haye-Ruiz hardly thrilled – due, it must be said to the challenger’s track record, where he has been guilty of giving fans less than memorable fights – but now that it’s almost here, the anticipation of a good fight has grown. And, with Haye talking the way he is about a possible war, maybe we should be expecting a fan-friendly affair at The M.E.N Arena in Manchester.
Haye certainly doesn’t expect Ruiz to fight in a negative manner come fight night; even going as far as to predict some major fireworks!
“His whole career has been boring up to now,” Haye said of Ruiz. “I know he’s going to be there after 12 rounds, I know I’m going to be there for 12 rounds so you’re going to get a really explosive fight. You’re going to get fireworks – that’s 100-percent.”
So, is Haye, by speaking of both he and Ruiz “being there for 12-rounds,” suggesting he expects a distance fight? For sure, it would be some impressive win for the Londoner if he were able to become just the second man to have ever halted the Puerto Rican. Maybe a distance fight is what we will get next month – hopefully an entertaining distance fight.
Speaking of being hopeful, the fight (or fights) we all want to see this year is Haye against one or both of the currently all-conquering Klitschko brothers. He’s said he’s wanted to fight them before now, but Haye again has said his plan is to get it on with either Wladimir and/or Vitali next.
“The plan is to get Ruiz out of the way, get the fights with the Klitschko brothers, and then unify the titles,” Haye said. “Wladimir’s more vulnerable because he’s been knocked out a few times – whereas Vitali hasn’t. But then Vitali is older and has well documented knee problems, so he’s not as mobile as his younger brother, but he’s tougher. They’re both beatable.”
But can Haye beat Ruiz to set up a fight with a Klitschko? “The Quiet Man” sure will ruin a lot of big plans if he upsets Haye next month. For what it’s worth, I see Haye coming through a few sticky patches before winning a fairly wide decision.