By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk
On the day boxing's premier attraction, Manny Pacquiao, threatened to walk away from the sport because his mother does not want him to fight any more, the perennial heavyweight contender John Ruiz said the fight game's showcase division is also in a sorry state.
Boxing, he said last night, needs a big fight to bring the excitement back and it has to happen in the heavyweight division, where he resides and where he will challenge David Haye for his WBA belt in Manchester on 3 April.
After his return to the Philippines yesterday, Pacquiao spread gloom in the industry when he confirmed his mother has asked him to stop boxing after a 19-year career in which he has won titles at seven weights. It comes as negotiations are due to resume to get the biggest bout in the history of the sport – Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr – back on track after it was aborted earlier in the year.
"I'm not obliged to fight him," the 31-year-old WBO welterweight champion told reporters in Manila. "He's the one who needs to fight me."
Meanwhile, Ruiz said the non-event that was Wladimir Klitschko's defence of the WBO and IBF titles in Düsseldorf on Saturday night against the non-punching Eddie Chambers was another big blow for the sport.
"The thing with the Klitschkos is they only fight people they can beat," he said. "They don't go out there and fight people who could actually give them a fight. I've been trying to meet up with them for a quite a while. But that's the way it is in boxing. That's why so many people are staying away from the heavyweight division. Nobody really wants to fight anybody. It's sad. At one point, the heavyweight division was boxing."
To that end, the 38-year-old American is looking to create a stir when he fights Haye. Certainly, the seeds for a good row have been planted.
Ruiz, known as the Quiet Man, is unfazed that Haye is livid with him for failing to come to England in January to promote the fight. Hayemaker Productions paid £15,000 for first-class airline tickets and hotels for Ruiz and his entourage. "I didn't want to break training in Las Vegas," Ruiz said. "I think the fans would rather I was ready for the fight than just turn up for interviews."
Nor does he want to get in a slanging match with a champion whose speciality is the pre-fight wind-up. "He wouldn't say anything I haven't heard already. I've heard it all from A to Z. It's no big deal to me. I'm just ready to fight.
"When you hear the name John Ruiz, you hear nothing but bad news afterwards. It's been like that forever. I don't have the greatest talent in the world, I don't have the greatest [box office] appeal but, at the same time, I have the determination to be the best. That keeps me going. It's been a rollercoaster ride, and it's been kind of tough. I can never get a break. But things are starting to change for me. I'm starting to realise who I am as a person and as a fighter."
At the heart of his new team is Golden Boy Promotions, whom Ruiz joined after many years with Don King. He seems happy with the arrangement.
"Don King doesn't do many fights anymore. Believe it or not, when I was with him, some times I felt like he was against me. That's the reason I signed with Oscar De La Hoya."
Nobody could say there was any quit in Ruiz, from the negotiating table to the ring. Haye has a proper fight on his hands.
Source: guardian.co.uk
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