David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs) made a successful first defence of his WBA Heavyweight Title when he stopped John Ruiz (44-9, 30 KOs) in the ninth round of their clash at Manchester´s MEN Arena. Fighting in front of a boisterous sell-out crowd of 20.000 fans, the 29-year-old knocked down his opponent four times, including twice in the first round, to clinch a spectacular victory. He was in full control throughout the entire bout, constantly punishing Ruiz with his trademark power punches. When Haye unloaded another barrage of heavy shots after 2:01 in the ninth round, Ruiz´ corner threw the towel..
“I was over the moon,” Haye said afterwards. “I am really happy with my performance. I felt was really sharp. There was a 20,000 capacity here with everyone screaming the ‘Hayemaker’ and I really enjoyed it. With performances like that I’ll keep the fans behind me. I loved the whole occasion. I want to keep pleasing my fans and I will fight anybody they want me to fight.”
Just like his fighter, coach/manager Adam Booth enjoyed a very special evening at the MEN Arena. “David has got a good boxing brain and he gave an entertaining fight in a homecoming,” he said. “There are still some things he can improve and we will be working hard on that. But he put on a good show tonight.” Asked about Haye´s next opponent, Booth said: “We don´t yet know what the immediate future holds. We will take a few days off, get a rest and then sit down with our partners from Sauerland Event to discuss the options.”
Chris Meyer, General Manager of Sauerland Event, believes that Haye has a golden future ahead. “It was a fantastic night of boxing,” Meyer said. “It was an electrifying atmosphere and David put on an entertaining fight. Ruiz is a tough guy and kept marching forward, but David simply had too much power for him. The fans all over the world love to see David fight, he is very entertaining. Just like Adam said, we will now carefully discuss the future. There are several options. It will be a very interesting time.”