Haye: “There doesn’t seem to be an ounce of fear in Ruiz”

By Boxing News - 04/03/2010 - Comments

Image: Haye: “There doesn’t seem to be an ounce of fear in Ruiz”By Jason Kim: For a fighter that thrives on having opponents that are outwardly showing fear of him and making poor decisions in the ring, World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s) could have a problem on his hands tonight when he faces two-time heavyweight champion John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KO’s) at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, England. To be sure, Ruiz has been beaten a number of times during his career, but only two of those eight losses have been conclusive ones.

The other six have been narrow, and in some cases quite controversial losses. Haye won’t have the luxury of facing a timid opponent tonight, because Ruiz has been there before against possibly even better fighters than Haye and isn’t showing any fear of Haye. Haye notes this, saying “There doesn’t seem to be an ounce of fear in Ruiz. Sometimes you can see in their eyes that they’re nervous. They might pump their chest out and you can see their heart beating, but he’s looked cool, calm and collected. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I admire him, but I respect him and what’s he’s done.”

Haye should be lucky if he could hang around and beat half the big names that Ruiz has beaten. As of yet, Haye hasn’t proven a thing at heavyweight, and has been selectively matched against less than the most dangerous of heavyweights. Instead of facing dangerous top contenders on his way up to a heavyweight title shot, Haye opted to fight Tomasz Bonin and Monte Barrett. Instead of fighting heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Haye opted to fight WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, easily the weakest of the three in the minds of most boxing fans.

Ruiz, oddly enough, would seem to be a big step up for Haye, because even though he’s been defeated twice by Valuev, both of the defeats were controversial. Ruiz also appears to have more left in the tank at this point in his career compared to the 7-foot Valuev, who has been starting to show signs of aging and slowing down in the past two years. Ruiz can move, punch and cut off the ring much better than the slow-footed Valuev.

Haye won’t be able to depend on having an edge in experience in this fight, because Ruiz has significantly more experience against much better heavyweights compared to Haye. Perhaps the 20,000 British fans will be a factor in this fight if they can get Haye motivated enough to fight hard in the early going. However, if Haye lets Ruiz stay in this fight for long, Haye will have problems with Ruiz’s power and inside game.

Haye’s not used to getting hit by heavyweights, as his first three opponents rarely hit him, but Ruiz could last long enough to test Haye’s brittle chin. Ruiz might not hit as hard as Carl Thompson, the fighter who gave Haye his only loss in 2004, but Ruiz hits hard enough to put Haye down if he can land with any regularity.

This is why Haye will likely stay on the outside and look to pot shot all night long rather than risk getting his chin tested. Ruiz cuts off the ring well, so Haye may have little choice but to fight it out with him whether he likes it or not.



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