• Boxing

Haye not thinking of Klitschko fight

ESPN staff
January 27, 2010
David Haye won the WBA heavyweight belt in November 2009 © Getty Images
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David Haye would be making "the biggest mistake" if he focused on fighting either Klitschko before he has successfully negotiated the "massive banana skin" that is next opponent John Ruiz, according to his trainer Adam Booth.

Haye, who has made clear his desire to unify the heavyweight division by taking on the Ukrainians, will fight mandatory challenger Ruiz at Manchester's MEN Arena on April 3 in his first defence of the WBA heavyweight belt he won from Nikolai Valuev last November.

"David and I both know that this fight with Ruiz is a massive banana skin in David's plans of becoming a long-term heavyweight champion and unifying the titles," Booth said. "Looking beyond John Ruiz would probably be the biggest mistake that we could ever make and we are certainly not going to do that.

"John Ruiz has been at world level for a long, long time and he is the master at making talented fighters look less than ordinary."

The 38-year-old two-time WBA champion will represent a different challenge to Valuev - although no less arduous - according to Haye. "This fight is a completely different animal compared to the Valuev fight," he said.

"He's the same size as me, he's a lot faster than my prior opponent and I'm looking at boxing a completely different fight this time round. I think what I did against Valuev wouldn't really be enough against Ruiz.

"I expect him to come with a solid game plan, but I feel that no matter what he brings to the table, I will find some way to counteract that - and beat him spectacularly by knocking him out."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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