BoxRec

whicker wrote:Ohhhh if its Manchester, I might be tempted to go to that - although I have said I'd never go to the MEN again...!

I'm sure it would sell out, too!

Rixxy wrote: How come you will never go to the MEN again?

bennie wrote:Britain’s David Haye makes the first defence of his WBA heavyweight title against mandatory challenger John Ruiz of Puerto Rico in Manchester on April 3.
Haye was tied to meeting Ruiz even before he wrested the title from Russian mammoth Nikolai Valuev on a close but deserved decision in Germany in November; the winner of Haye-Valuev had to face Ruiz, which, frankly, was and is a crime. Ruiz goes by the nickname of “The Quiet Man” and truer words were never shushed - the man is instantly forgettable, the last type of opponent the talented, swashbuckling Haye needs right now, on the cusp of one or two heavyweight superfights. Even the Klitsckho brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, arguably the busiest and best heavyweights in the world today know that Ruiz prospers by making others look bad, a real spoiler. They have never fought him; they have yet to fight Haye, although they will, the braver of the two first.
For now, the Londoner lowers himself against a man beaten twice by Valuev in sleep-inducing 12-rounders. This was before Haye proved that Valuev cannot even pillow-fight when he played with the giant for 12 rounds, despite conceding 11 inches in height (Haye is 6ft 3ins) and seven stone. He also damaged his right hand in the early rounds but used his jab to pick up the points and went for it in the last, the fight already won, and staggered Valuev with a left hook.
It was only Haye’s third fight at heavyweight and the former undisputed cruiserweight champion will surely improve, improve, improve. At 29 he has youth, fluidity, speed, power and good size and weight (215 pounds) - he looks like a heavyweight. More than all that, he’s refreshingly charismatic, refreshingly candid. He recently admitted that many boxing fans will always regard him as ‘chinny’, after a few early career wobbles, but bears no ill-feeling to the fans or to the label. This is the beaming David Haye for you, a man who knows when to switch off the trash-talk.
Ruiz lives without a smile on his face and tends to wipe the smile off others. Regrettably, I am not talking about his opponents but the poor fans. The ageing challenger secured his ‘iffy’ mandatory status because he moaned long and hard after his (second) close fight with Valuev in August 2008 in Berlin, where he dropped a split decision. It was one of those “Who cares?” fights, one of those “Who cares?” decisions, but Ruiz never let up until the No. 1 ranking was his. He recently inked a promotional deal with the powerful Oscar De La Hoya, which proves one thing and one thing only: Oscar has his eyes firmly on the self-promoted Haye. Our David is the heavyweight future, not the 38-year-old Ruiz.
Ideally, Haye would have made more of a statement against the plodding, robotic Valuev but there is plenty of time for that, particularly against one or both of the plodding, robotic Klitschkos, if not the awkward Ruiz. David says he wants to clean up the heavyweight division and needs to brush Ruiz aside as efficiently as he possibly can, trying to look good in the process. Only David Tua has ever spectacularly despatched Ruiz, back in 1996, but it remains Ruiz’s only ever stoppage defeat and he has learned how to survive, to hold, to frustrate, to infuriate. He counters well but everything is part of his spoiler package. If he counters well, he clutches better.
Ultimately, Ruiz is another Joe “King” Roman, the overrated Puerto Rican who secured a shot at George Foreman for the world heavyweight title in Tokyo in 1972 and stunk out the joint. Sadly, even in defeat, Ruiz will probably also stink out the Manchester joint.

Deserter wrote:

bennie wrote:Britain’s David Haye makes the first defence of his WBA heavyweight title against mandatory challenger John Ruiz of Puerto Rico in Manchester on April 3.
Haye was tied to meeting Ruiz even before he wrested the title from Russian mammoth Nikolai Valuev on a close but deserved decision in Germany in November; the winner of Haye-Valuev had to face Ruiz, which, frankly, was and is a crime. Ruiz goes by the nickname of “The Quiet Man” and truer words were never shushed - the man is instantly forgettable, the last type of opponent the talented, swashbuckling Haye needs right now, on the cusp of one or two heavyweight superfights. Even the Klitsckho brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, arguably the busiest and best heavyweights in the world today know that Ruiz prospers by making others look bad, a real spoiler. They have never fought him; they have yet to fight Haye, although they will, the braver of the two first.
For now, the Londoner lowers himself against a man beaten twice by Valuev in sleep-inducing 12-rounders. This was before Haye proved that Valuev cannot even pillow-fight when he played with the giant for 12 rounds, despite conceding 11 inches in height (Haye is 6ft 3ins) and seven stone. He also damaged his right hand in the early rounds but used his jab to pick up the points and went for it in the last, the fight already won, and staggered Valuev with a left hook.
It was only Haye’s third fight at heavyweight and the former undisputed cruiserweight champion will surely improve, improve, improve. At 29 he has youth, fluidity, speed, power and good size and weight (215 pounds) - he looks like a heavyweight. More than all that, he’s refreshingly charismatic, refreshingly candid. He recently admitted that many boxing fans will always regard him as ‘chinny’, after a few early career wobbles, but bears no ill-feeling to the fans or to the label. This is the beaming David Haye for you, a man who knows when to switch off the trash-talk.
Ruiz lives without a smile on his face and tends to wipe the smile off others. Regrettably, I am not talking about his opponents but the poor fans. The ageing challenger secured his ‘iffy’ mandatory status because he moaned long and hard after his (second) close fight with Valuev in August 2008 in Berlin, where he dropped a split decision. It was one of those “Who cares?” fights, one of those “Who cares?” decisions, but Ruiz never let up until the No. 1 ranking was his. He recently inked a promotional deal with the powerful Oscar De La Hoya, which proves one thing and one thing only: Oscar has his eyes firmly on the self-promoted Haye. Our David is the heavyweight future, not the 38-year-old Ruiz.
Ideally, Haye would have made more of a statement against the plodding, robotic Valuev but there is plenty of time for that, particularly against one or both of the plodding, robotic Klitschkos, if not the awkward Ruiz. David says he wants to clean up the heavyweight division and needs to brush Ruiz aside as efficiently as he possibly can, trying to look good in the process. Only David Tua has ever spectacularly despatched Ruiz, back in 1996, but it remains Ruiz’s only ever stoppage defeat and he has learned how to survive, to hold, to frustrate, to infuriate. He counters well but everything is part of his spoiler package. If he counters well, he clutches better.
Ultimately, Ruiz is another Joe “King” Roman, the overrated Puerto Rican who secured a shot at George Foreman for the world heavyweight title in Tokyo in 1972 and stunk out the joint. Sadly, even in defeat, Ruiz will probably also stink out the Manchester joint.

Great summary Bennie (and good to see you on here again ;;-) ). My concern is how Haye will cope from a stamina perspective if he fails to connect well enough in the early rounds. I can see Ruiz's mauling style potentially tiring him a lot as the rounds go by. Having said that Ruiz is no spring chicken and will surely struggle with Haye's speed, so an early KO isn't out of the question despite it being well over a decade since Ruiz was last stopped.

Spud wrote:Hatton Promotions?

Adamj1987 wrote:im going which ever venue

MacTavish wrote: Annoyed this is not at the 02 or the New Den (unlikely I know!) - Haye's a Londoner, not a Manc. And as Chelsea are away to Man Utd that day there are no cheap train fares available from the big smoke.