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Fresh off his big victory over Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight title on Saturday in Germany, David Haye is back to talking about the division's two main men, brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
"Anyone who has a belt is in my sights now - definitely the Klitschkos. The Klitschkos tried to lock me down in a crazy contract. I am free now to fight who I want to." He also described what made for what he felt was a "good" performance:
"I am an athlete and if I wasn't boxing I would be playing football or rugby. Being a good athlete means you can put on good performances like that. My athleticism made the difference."
Haye's performance was what it was, and he came out the winner. I think few would really describe the fight as a "good performance," certainly not from a watchable standpoint. It was a horrid fight, but again being fair to Haye, I will also note once more that nobody looks good with Valuev. He did what he had to do, but perception being what it is, he'll never get great credit because many are going to feel he came nowhere near backing up his big talk.
Haye will be fighting John Ruiz next, as Ruiz is his mandatory and Haye has no intention of giving up the belt he just won in search of a bigger fight. I actually think it's a very interesting fight. At 37, Ruiz is on the back end of a career that has been anything but glorious, but has been been indisputably successful. Ruiz's entire career has sort of amounted to Haye's win over Valuev: Ugly, but it got the job done.
I do think Ruiz has a better shot at beating Haye than almost anyone is going to give him credit for, but Haye will be and should be the favorite. Ruiz isn't lying that he's been trying to fight more aggressively in his last handful of bouts, and though he's not a one-shot guy by any stretch, he has legitimate heavyweight power and is a very smart old fighter. If Haye does beat him, the fact that most disregard Ruiz will also mean that Haye probably won't get the credit he deserves. "Of course he won," they'll say. "Ruiz is a crummy old man." It would be a win of note, I say, and while it's hardly the No. 1 fight anyone wants to see, it's worthwhile for certain.