Haye defends heavyweight title

David Haye dismantled John Ruiz to make a successful first defence of his WBA world heavyweight title in a brutal showdown at the MEN Arena.

Haye outclassed the limited but courageous Ruiz who refused to take a backwards step until he was rescued by his corner towards the end of the ninth.

The right hand was Haye’s most productive shot, which he used to repeatedly stagger former two-time world champion Ruiz, who was overwhelmed from start to finish before a 20,000 sell out crowd.

It was the dramatic performance the 29-year-old Londoner promised would ignite the ailing heavyweight division and a far cry from the lifeless majority points decision he secured against Nikolai Valuev last November to win the WBA belt.

In the build-up Haye refused to taunt an opponent who fought 36 rounds against Evander Holyfield a decade ago, realising the futility of attempting to provoke such a grizzled veteran.

As expected Haye was too fast and too powerful to be troubled by Ruiz, though future opponents will have noticed his obvious defensive frailties tonight.