WBA champion David Haye 23-1 (21) will make the first defence as expected against
mandatory contender John Ruiz 44-8-1 (30). However the venue will not be in London,
as widely thought but in Manchester at the Manchester Evening News arena.
Haye had the following to say, "It's been 10 years since the heavyweight championship has been fought in Britain. Now it's time to showcase my skills again in front of the great British public. I'm delighted to have the fight at Manchester's MEN Arena, I've been there on many nights to watch Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, even Mike Tyson, and the atmosphere was always tremendous."
"I'm looking forward to getting back to what I do best - throwing my trademark 'Hayemakers.' Ruiz is a come-forward fighter so I aim to get at him, break him down, and take him out in good style. This is a very different fight to the one I had against Valuev. He is a pressure fighter, has quick hands and will try and take me into the trenches and I'm relishing that battle."
Ruiz declined to travel to Manchester for this preliminary press conference but sent the following statement, seemingly stung by criticism from Haye: "What I saw in his last fight was boring, and he's calling me boring? How many punches did he throw against Valuev, 10 a round? I'm glad he's talking, he knows he's got his hands full."
Oscar De La Hoya also commented on fight stating that Haye was a very exciting fighter but that Ruiz had been around and seen it all before and would not be a pushover.
This writer has the feeling that this fight may be a lot more exciting than some people expect.
By JIMMY LAST (EDITOR)
