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Britain's David Haye defended his WBA heavyweight crown with a ninth-round stoppage of an obdurate and courageous John Ruiz in Manchester.
Haye floored Ruiz just 25 seconds into the encounter, but the American challenger showed tremendous bravery and powers of recovery to survive.
For a moment it looked as if Ruiz was working his way back into the fight.
But the badly-marked 38-year-old was down in the fifth and again
in the sixth before his corner called a halt three rounds later.
Haye's brutal victory over a man who had only been stopped once in 54
previous encounters makes inevitable a unification clash with either
WBC champion Vitali Klitschko or his younger brother Wladimir, the IBF
and WBO title-holder.
"I was over the moon, really happy with it - I felt I was really sharp," Haye told BBC Radio 5 live.
"There were a load of fans here. The crowd has been absolutely electric
for me. There was a 20,000 capacity here with everyone screaming the
'Hayemaker'.
"With performances like that I'll keep the fans behind me. I loved the whole occasion."
As expected, Haye, 29, sprang out of the traps at the sound of the
first bell and had Ruiz over with his first real attack, a left-right
combination right on the button.
The American rose but looked unsteady on his feet. Haye immediately
went in for the kill, only for Ruiz to cover up well and somehow remain
upright.
Ruiz was down again halfway through the round, although this time
referee Guillermo Perez judged Haye had hit Ruiz on the back of the
head and docked him a point.
Ruiz, a veteran of 10 world title fights and a two-time world champion,
rallied well and even landed with a couple of solid right hands of his
own towards the end of the round, just to remind Haye he was still
there.
He may well have nicked the second before Haye upped his work-rate in
the third, peppering Ruiz with ramrod jabs and rocking him repeatedly
with huge right hands.
Ruiz had more success in the fourth, with Haye not moving his head as
effectively as he had been - and the sign of Haye grabbing his
gumshield at the bell suggested the fight was far from over.
But Ruiz wore a pair of juddering right crosses at the start of the
fifth before he was forced to take a knee after yet another massive
right hand.
Ruiz, his face by now masked with blood, was down for a fourth time in
the sixth, this time courtesy of a chopping right hook, and the
challenger's trainer Miguel Diaz indicated that the next round might be
his last hurrah.
But Haye coasted the seventh, meaning Ruiz, who never stopped coming
forward despite the damage he was sustaining, was sent out again.
A scything uppercut had Ruiz backpedalling at the start of the eighth
and, after another tremendous barrage it looked like he might go over
again. But Haye, feeling the pace himself, stood off.
After more one-way traffic in the ninth, Diaz finally waved the white
flag two minutes and one second into the round to save his man further
punishment.
With his victory, Haye becomes the first British fighter to defend a
heavyweight world title on home soil since Lennox Lewis beat South
Africa's Francois Botha at the London Arena in 2000.
When Haye, whose record now reads 24 wins (22 knockouts) and one
defeat, beat Nikolay Valuev to claim the WBA belt last November, there
was a rematch clause in the contract, but the hope is the Russian will
be paid to step aside.
Haye wants a fight against either Klitschko to take place at London's
Wembley Stadium, although the Ukrainian siblings would prefer it to
happen in their adopted Germany where they command huge television
audiences and would have little problem filling a football stadium.
Haye was all set to fight Wladimir in Gelsenkirchen last June before
Haye pulled out with a back injury, but the Englishman will use the
impressive nature of his victory over Ruiz to claim he is now the
bigger draw.
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