Well, it is official that David Haye will be taking on John Ruiz, the WBA's #1 Contender, in his first title defense. I don't think even Haye's family is excited for this one. The fight will be held at the MEN Arena in Manchester(according to ESPN) on April 3rd.
After all of Haye's talk about wanting to unify the division, and take on the Brothers Klitschko, he turns around and fights Ruiz. Now, to his defense, I understand that Ruiz is the mandatory for him according to the WBA. But...I do recall Vitali Klitschko getting a defense against Oleg Maskaev waived by the WBC because the fight had no significance...just like this one. I don't want to sound like a hater, because Ruiz was a fine boxer in his day, but he is just so boring to watch that it will be Haye vs Valuev all over again. If Ruiz fights his fight, lots of clinching and holding, all it is going to do is hurt Haye's name as a big puncher in the division, which is not good for marketability. Granted, Ruiz has been KO'd by big punchers before....click on the link...soak that up for a little.
Ruiz has had a fine career, having a 1-1-1 trilogy with Evander Holyfield, and defeating Golota, Rahman, and McCline. You could also attribute his 10 career losses to fighting foreign fighters in foreign countries (SD against Valuev and a debatable DEC., also a debatable DEC. against Ruslan Chagaev). The bottom line with Ruiz is that his fighting style is a very affective but unpleasant one to watch. It is not crowd pleasing, it doesn't sell tickets, and he is no longer a big name. In a sport that is desperate need to excitment, from it heavy punchers, John Ruiz is just not the man to get it done.
What does the heavyweight division need? A flashy, big puncher, trash talking youngster to stir the pot. Insert David Haye. Haye is a brash young fighter who knows that he can knock you out and is not affraid to tell you before the fight. By today's heavyweight standards he is a spring chicken, 29 years old, and has bargaining power with the WBA title. As of late he has been best known for his war of words with the Klitschko Brothers, pulling out of a fight with Wlad, and even showing up to a press conference with a t-shirt depicting Haye holding up the decapitated heads of the K Bros(below)...classy. Like I stated in a previous post, the division needs a big puncher, youth, and some bad blood. If the WBA, and Golden Boy(Haye's handlers), would get their act together maybe he could help with the Renaissance of the historic division.
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