MANCHESTER, England - The curiously respectful love fest that has gone on all week between bombastic WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and his Calvin Coolidge-like challenger, John Ruiz, continued at the weigh-in yesterday in The Great Hall of Manchester’s 123-year-old Victorian Town Hall building, whose spire towers 283 feet above Albert Square.
What added to the oddness of the moment was, by the time both men got off the scales, there were more questions to be asked than answers given.
The 38-year-old Ruiz weighed in at 231 pounds with a T-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers on, meaning he was actually more like 228-229. That is the lightest he’s been for a title fight in seven years, and only 4-5 pounds above what he weighed when he beat Evander Holyfield for his WBA title 10 years ago.
All one can conclude from that is Ruiz is taking quite seriously what could be either his final moment as a factor in the heavyweight division, or his breakthrough moment.The Chelsea native has trained for three months, importing strength and conditioning coach Keith McGrath from Boston to work with him throughout his camp alongside his boxing overseer, veteran Las Vegas trainer Miguel Diaz. Whether that converts into a victory tonight no one can know, but his fitness indicates a level of preparedness absent in Ruiz’ recent throw-downs.
In contrast, Haye came in at 222 pounds (or “15 stone, 12” as they say here), the heaviest of his career and five pounds above his weight when he won the title just four months ago. He remains an impressive physical specimen, but several British journalists familiar with him wondered aloud whether the extra tonnage was an effort to improve his power - which would seem ridiculous considering the knockout punch he carries in his right hand - or a case of not working as hard as he claims he has.
Whatever the case, the MEN Arena is expected to be packed with more than 20,000 British fight fans that have come to watch only the fifth British-born heavyweight champion make his first title defense. As one might expect, Haye is the heavy favorite - 7-1 to win, 7-2 by knockout, even though Ruiz has been stopped only once in his career, when he was caught cold by a David Tua hook seconds after the opening bell.
At 29, Haye is nine years younger than Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KOs) and carries with him what promoter Don King would term “double shock power.” He has knocked out 21 of his 23 victims with only one defeat. To say he can punch is an understatement, which is something young Haye is not prone to. Yet this week, he admitted unhinging Ruiz from his senses will be a daunting task.
“He’s only been stopped once and that was 14 years ago,” Haye said. “If I stop him, it will be a great indicator of how hard I punch.”
Until Ruiz showed up, “if” was never in Haye’s vocabulary. He has threatened to end the lives of both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, who hold the other three heavyweight titles, and promised decapitation to nearly everyone he’s ever faced. Haye may still feel that way, but his commentary has been tempered this time by the realization Ruiz has survived 322 rounds of heavyweight boxing, including 162 in championship fights.
Meanwhile, Haye has boxed only 18 rounds in the division, and during that brief time been dropped by Monte Barrett, who is the very definition of a trial horse, as well as by both Jean-Marc Mormeck and Carl Thompson (his only loss) during his time as cruiserweight champion.
Even Haye’s trainer/manager Adam Booth conceded, “(David) admits he’s not the most durable heavyweight in the world, but he says ‘I’m one of the quickest and most dangerous, and I’m going to get you before you get me.’ His ability to take a shot has improved dramatically but, listen, anything can happen. One punch and it could all be over.”
Booth was speaking a generalized truth not specific to facing Ruiz. But when you box in the hardest hitting division in the sport, a suspect mandible is clearly not an asset. Perhaps that is part of the reason Haye and Booth have threatened to jump on Ruiz from the opening bell, seeking to bring a quick end to the first heavyweight title fight in England in nearly a decade.
Ruiz claims to favor that approach under the theory if a brawl breaks out, it enhances his chances of leaving England with one more belt.
“We both have our little agendas,” said Ruiz. “He likes to toot his own horn. Now he has to back it up. People think I’m over the hill. I don’t think so, actually. If I did, I wouldn’t be here. Now I have to prove I’m not. We’ll see.”
When the two of them are left standing alone and half naked in the loneliest place in sports tonight, indeed we will.
rborges@bostonherald.com
Source: bostonherald.com
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