David Haye boxed a masterpiece against warrior John Ruiz in Manchester, England which brought tears of joy to the eyes of his mum who was at ringside with his father. Dominant and flashy, Haye was in brilliant form. Here is the round by round…
John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KOs) enters the ring and looks in shape, serious, and focused as usual. This is his 11th world title fight. Haye comes out to the music Larry Holmes made famous in boxing circles, “Aint No Stoppin Us Now.” Haye (23-1) looks ultra confident and relaxed.
Round one: The former two-time WBA champ is greeted rudely by a blockbuster Haye straight right square on his chin, which drops him. Haye showing dazzling speed which Ruiz clearly is surprised by. Ruiz gets up wobbly and is dropped again by a rabbit punch but the ref does not give the American extra time to recover. Ruiz fights on and somehow survives the round, almost two minutes. You have to admire the warrior heart of Ruiz.
Round two: Ruiz is hunting Haye and begins to land some punches. Haye boxing and moving, showing agility and athleticism, scores with pot shots and jabs. Ruiz “lumbering” as the commentator describes it, but scores. Another round for Haye.
Round three: Bloody nose for Ruiz who is still showing eagerness and determination to score the upset victory on foreign soil. Haye contols the action and continues to score. After the round Adam Booth tells Haye: “You can jab like that all night long. He’s limited.”
Round four: Haye keeps his left down a lot, Hearns like, trusting his reflexes. But also easily seeing Ruiz’s predictable pattern of rang-finding jab followed by awkward sneaky right. It’s matador vs. bull. Somewhat surprising that Ruiz can do no mauling or holding. He is content to hunt. Or maybe that’s all he can try to do against the exceptional hand and footspeed of Haye. Ruiz seems to be getting closer and scores. He’s pressing the attack. Ruiz looking good at the bell. I score this round for Ruiz. Haye up 3-1.
Round five: Haye comes right out and lands two big rights to regain control lost at the end of the fourth. Still it’s a tremendous effort by Ruiz. You gotta admire this guy, such an unsung warrior who has had such an impressive career. Consider how many try and fail at heavyweight boxing. Ruiz is still here, giving it his best at the highest level. Commentator says: “Good, free-flowing action here.” Ruiz goes down again from two big rights by Haye. Commentator: “Haye showing he is a true heavyweight.” It’s only 29-year-old Haye’s fourth fight at heavyweight.”
Round six: Ruiz comes out aggressive. But goes down again for the fourth time from another right. Haye working the body too. Haye is shining on the big stage.
Round seven: Haye is boxing a masterpiece here. This is a dominating performance. He is smooth, fluid, flowing and has devastating power to play with. Haye is very focused at all times, all business. And he shows good defensive instincts. It’s like a tiger vs. a mini bear. The tiger has too much speed and agility. Ruiz is not able to land as many hits as the early rounds.
Round eight: Action is the same as the previous round.
Round nine: Ruiz is following Haye. No cutting off the ring, no urgent intensity to his pressure. He’s not hunting Haye but following him around the ring, so wary of the British man’s power. His only hope appears to be a lucky punch or a bad error by the champion. Haye lands another big right, Ruiz staggering along the ropes. Suddenly the towel comes in from Miguel Diaz and it’s over. There is no protest from Ruiz. Ruiz immediately embraces Haye, showing class and graciousness. Haye’s mum has tears of joy running down here cheeks. The slow motion shows the awesome lunging swiping punches from Haye which are so accurate and forceful. Nicky Piper: “Brilliant performance.”
David Haye was never in danger and totally controlled John Ruiz in a performance which will rejuvenate excitement and interest into the heavyweight division all over the world. Ruiz may have been tailor made for Haye but Haye boxed with precision and punched with explosive authority. I don’t see him threatening Wladimir Klitschko though it will be a very interesting clash of styles and egos. This fight must be made for later this year. But this performance by Haye raises the stock of heavyweight boxing and perfectly sets up the big heavyweight showdown everyone wants to see: haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko.
