David Haye successfully retained his WBA heavyweight Title against the challenge from John Ruiz at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Haye finally managed to break down Ruiz’ stern resistance nine rounds into the contest, having floored the 38-year-old after just 25 seconds. It was only the fourth time in his career that Haye had fought as a heavyweight, and for a short while it had appeared that Ruiz was working his way back into the fight. Ruiz had only been stopped once in 54 previous encounters, but after going down in both the fifth and the sixth the decision was taken to throw in the towel three rounds later. Haye, speaking to BBC Radio Five, said “I was over the moon, really happy with it - I felt I was really sharp,” adding “with performances like that I'll keep the fans behind me. I loved the whole occasion.” A 20,000-strong capacity crowd gathered in Manchester to support their hero with chants of ‘Hayemaker’, and he certainly didn’t disappoint, springing out of the traps immediately to fell Ruiz, before going in for the kill, only to see his rival somehow remain upright. However the challenger raised his game in the second before Haye upped his work-rate and claimed the third, but it was in the fifth and sixth that the fight was won, with Ruiz' face covered in blood, before his trainer Miguel Diaz decided that enough was enough. Credit must be given to Ruiz for coming back for more despite sustaining significant damage, but it was Haye's night, as he became the first British fighter to defend a heavyweight title on home soil since Lennox Lewis overcame South Africa's Francois Botha at the London Arena in 2000. It appears all but inevitable that Haye will now fight either WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko or his younger brother Wladimir, who currently holds both the IBF and WBO titles. Whether the fight takes place at London's Wembley Stadium, as preferred by Haye, or in the Klitschko brothers' adopted Germany, where they could command a vast television audience, there is no question that Haye's chances of unifying the division will have been done no harm at all by his impressive victory over a courageous, brave and stubborn opponent in John Ruiz.
Sunday 4 April 2010
Haye produces Heavyweight display to defend WBA crown
David Haye successfully retained his WBA heavyweight Title against the challenge from John Ruiz at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Haye finally managed to break down Ruiz’ stern resistance nine rounds into the contest, having floored the 38-year-old after just 25 seconds. It was only the fourth time in his career that Haye had fought as a heavyweight, and for a short while it had appeared that Ruiz was working his way back into the fight. Ruiz had only been stopped once in 54 previous encounters, but after going down in both the fifth and the sixth the decision was taken to throw in the towel three rounds later. Haye, speaking to BBC Radio Five, said “I was over the moon, really happy with it - I felt I was really sharp,” adding “with performances like that I'll keep the fans behind me. I loved the whole occasion.” A 20,000-strong capacity crowd gathered in Manchester to support their hero with chants of ‘Hayemaker’, and he certainly didn’t disappoint, springing out of the traps immediately to fell Ruiz, before going in for the kill, only to see his rival somehow remain upright. However the challenger raised his game in the second before Haye upped his work-rate and claimed the third, but it was in the fifth and sixth that the fight was won, with Ruiz' face covered in blood, before his trainer Miguel Diaz decided that enough was enough. Credit must be given to Ruiz for coming back for more despite sustaining significant damage, but it was Haye's night, as he became the first British fighter to defend a heavyweight title on home soil since Lennox Lewis overcame South Africa's Francois Botha at the London Arena in 2000. It appears all but inevitable that Haye will now fight either WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko or his younger brother Wladimir, who currently holds both the IBF and WBO titles. Whether the fight takes place at London's Wembley Stadium, as preferred by Haye, or in the Klitschko brothers' adopted Germany, where they could command a vast television audience, there is no question that Haye's chances of unifying the division will have been done no harm at all by his impressive victory over a courageous, brave and stubborn opponent in John Ruiz.
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