A powerful puncher but with a shaky defense, Haye believes his attacking style will be too much for the experienced Ruiz. The American has fought some of the biggest names in the heavyweight division. Ruiz had three fights with Evander Holyfield, going 1-1-1 against him.
Haye won a majority decision over Valuev by staying out of reach of the huge Russian's sporadic punches in Nuremberg, Germany, on Nov. 7. He hopes to be on the offensive against the unspectacular Ruiz, whose style is to wear down his opponents.
"Everyone knows I had to go to Germany to take the title away from Nikolai Valuev," Haye said. "Now it's time to showcase my skills again in front of the great British public."
Haye's goal eventually is to unify the titles by beating the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, who hold the WBC, IBF and WBO titles between them.
Haye is 23-1 with 21 knockouts. Ruiz, a 38-year-old American who held and lost the WBA title twice, is 44-8-1 with one no contest. Two of his losses were to Valuev, and he was also beaten by Roy Jones Jr.
