The word here this week has been that John Ruiz, at 38, will abandon the hugging habits that have made him a pariah among heavyweights and throw punches freely at David Haye to win back the WBA title he has held twice before. We will see.
The theory springs from a friendship between the champion and BJ Flores, an unbeaten American cruiserweight, who, until recently, was a $1,200-a-week sparring partner for Ruiz in Las Vegas.
When that gig was terminated, Flores unburdened himself to Haye, who has adjusted his strategy accordingly. "I've got my spies," is the way Haye put it, "so I know what he's doing. If he lets his hands go, it will suit me. You can't hit someone if they're holding on to you. If he's standing there trying to exchange with me, as soon as his hands come away from his face, it gives me a target to hit. I will be able to land my shots quicker than he will."Ruiz confirmed the Flores story, maintaining he was always a slugger at heart. "You're going to see the old Ruiz, boxing and punching," he said, "not like recently where I was leaning in too much and got into a holding situation. We're not going to see much of that. Yes, David Haye being a smaller guy, leaning on him could count as a plus. I've got to play it by ear when I step into that ring."
That is the moment when his fine intentions of making the fight an all-out brawl will come under intense pressure, when he will have to force himself to ignore the tics and shrugs picked up in 54 fights over 18 years.
Ruiz, although he has deceptively nimble footwork, is not going to turn into Fred Astaire for the evening. He will do what all fighters do: trust his instincts. Those instincts have helped him in 44 wins, 30 early, and cost him dearly a couple of times when it mattered, such as the night Roy Jones Jr embarrassed him by moving up from light-heavyweight to take his title away in 2003. Ruiz admits it was "the worst night of my life".
Haye, a keen student of his business, has watched that tape many times. He is not as quick as Jones, but there is not much in it. Speed will determine the course of this bout, as it did that one. Apart from the night in Nuremberg last November, when he out-foxtrotted Nikolai Valuev over 12 surreal rounds to win the belt, dynamic punching is at the core of Haye's method.
If Haye unloads on him in the first round, Ruiz will go back to his corner, and Miguel Diaz, the 78-year-old Argentinian who has just joined Team Ruiz, will tell him again to "let the punches go". If he does, it will not be often or for very long because he will find Haye's booming right hand descending on him.
No doubt Ruiz and Diaz figure Haye is susceptible because he has been stopped and dropped. They might think also that his stamina is suspect because he tired badly as an amateur in losing the light-heavyweight final at the 2001 world championships against the Cuban Odlanier Solis, then collapsed against Carl Thompson as a pro in 2004.
But those were at times when Haye's dedication slipped. His chin is not as fragile as people imagine and his training regime is so finely tuned he could probably go 20 rounds.
So, it is difficult to imagine any trainer worth his fee – and Diaz has trained 13 world champions – would advise a fighter to take unnecessary risks against such a heavy-handed opponent for longer than he has to, especially when predicated on an dubious diagnosis.
For boxing purists this is an intriguing contest. Whether it will live up to Adam Booth's billing as "one of the most exciting fights in years" will depend largely on the champion. Haye's trainer and confidant visualises an early finish, partly because if the fight goes the distance his man will be struggling against an opponent who has been operating at the weight all his professional career. Haye weighed in at 15st 12lb, and Ruiz was 16st 7lb.
I expect Ruiz's 12th world title fight to be his last. Haye should stop him about midway and keep a cursed belt that nobody in recent times has seemed capable of retaining for more than a couple of defences.
Source: guardian.co.uk
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