Promoter Oscar De La Hoya helps David Haye show off his new heavyweight title belt and his injured hand. Photo / Chris Cozzone-FightWireImages.com


LAS VEGAS – David Haye overcame a very big obstacle to win his first heavyweight title last Saturday. Now he wants the very big money.

Haye conquered 7-footer Nikolai Valuev in Nuremberg, Germany, winning a majority decision and one of the four major belts. Next, he must fight mandatory challenger John Ruiz. After that, he wants one of the two biggest prizes in heavyweight boxing – the Klitschko brothers.

“That’s the biggest fight, the biggest payday, the biggest everything,” Haye said during an informal meeting with the media. “That’s a fight a lot of people want to see, not only in the UK but all over the world.”

Haye (23-1, 21 knockouts) was a slight favorite to beat Valuev but won easily, at least on two cards. The brash Briton didn’t land a lot of punches, which made a dull fight, but scored with enough clean blows while avoiding meaningful shots to win 116-112, 116-112 and 114-114.

And he says he did it largely one handed beginning in second round, when he injured his right hand.

With the victory, the former cruiserweight champion becomes a major player in the sport’s most-important division.

“It was very difficult,” Haye said of fighting a man so big. “I said before the fight that even if he were 8 feet, though, I’d find a way to win. I was destined to be heavyweight champ of the world.”

Haye’s first defense will come against Ruiz, probably in the spring. The new titleholder undoubtedly will be favored but insists he won’t overlook the two-time titleholder from New England.

Haye said he looked past veteran Carl Thompson when they met in 2004, not having trained properly, and was stopped in five rounds. After that, he said, he trains as if each of his opponents is the toughest of his career.

Ruiz, he said, presents a challenge.

“He’s very effective,” Haye said. “He’s not brilliant in any one thing but he’s good at everything. He has a good chin, he punches a bit, he takes a punch, he has very good stamina, he’s awkward, he’s used to being the little man so he has plenty of heart. But I think he’s used to fighting big, modern-day heavyweights. I’m not a big heavyweight. I’m a smallish heavyweight who punches like a big heavyweight.

“With my combination of speed, athleticism and punching power, I plan to render him unconscious.”

Assuming that happens, Haye would seek a lucrative fight against either Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko.

Haye alienated the brothers by pulling out of a fight with Wladimir at the last minute, claiming an injury, and backing out of a subsequent fight against Vitali when they appeared to have an agreement in place. He also wore a T-shirt at a news conference emblazoned with an image of him holding the severed heads of the Klitschkos before the scheduled fight with Wladimir.

Still, he believes the potential for an enormous payday will lure at least one of them into the ring with him. Vitali is scheduled to fight Kevin Johnson on Dec. 12 in Switzerland. Wladimir was scheduled to fight Eddie Chambers next month but pulled out because of an injury.

“When they check their bank accounts after the guys the fight next, they’ll realize how much more they could’ve gotten in a fight against me. They’ll see my pay-per-view numbers (against Valuev) and realize that maybe they should make the right business decision.”

Haye doesn’t care which Klitschko he fights.

“Which one is hard to beat? I think they’re about the same, to be honest,” he said. “They both have their own assets. Wladimir is a little looser, a little faster and a lot more vulnerable to punches. … Vitali punches up a lot more, he takes a better shot. He’s older, though. He has well-documented knee problems; he’s not as mobile as Wladimir.

“They’re different fighters but I’ll train to beat either one of them.”

Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com