David Haye: I'm Prepared To Take Abuse From John Ruiz
By Mark Vester
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is preparing for a very rough experience when he takes on former two-time champion John Ruiz on April 3 in Manchester. Haye beat seven-foot Nikolai Valuev to win the title last November. Ruiz is the mandatory Haye couldn't avoid and he knows the fight will be a lot harder than Valuev. He expects a very rough fight with Ruiz busting him up a little bit.
"It's going to be harder than the Valuev fight," Haye told Sport magazine. "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 come out there, get close and try to rough me up. He comes in real heavy with his head, so I'm expecting to get cut at some stage in this fight. I know it's going to be a real war so that's what I'm preparing for."
Haye predicts fireworks in the contest. He wants to make this the most exciting Ruiz fight that anyone has ever seen in their career.
"His whole career has been boring up to now. 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%."
After Ruiz, Haye wants the Klitschko brothers. He was set to fight both last year and withdrew from both contests. Haye says both Klitschkos have their strengths but there are flaws that make them both beatable.
"They're fights I've wanted for a while and I know [the Klitschkos] want it too, so it will happen sooner or later. After this fight we're going to sit down and try to make it happen, because they're fights everyone wants to see," Haye said.
"Wladimir's more vulnerable as 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. The plan is to get John Ruiz out of the way, get the fights with the Klitschko borthers, then unify the titles."
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