No sooner had David Haye defeated Nikolai Valuev to lift the world heavyweight title and his next challenger had already made his presence known.

With the giant slayed, Haye must now defend his newly acquired WBA title against number one ranked contender, John ‘The Quiet Man’ Ruiz.

The scheduled title affair will take place during the first quarter of 2010 and the likelihood is that it will find a home in the United Kingdom.

“Ruiz is a respected and solid heavyweight contender with lots of good names on his record,” said Haye, now 23-1 (21 KO), following his 12-round decision win over Valuev.

“Ruiz is going to be my next opponent and we’re going to do a big homecoming back in London. It’s going to be a great fight and I’m looking forward to knocking him out.”

The 37-year-old Ruiz is a Massachusetts-based contender of Puerto Rican descent. In a professional career spanning 17 years, Ruiz has twice lifted the WBA world heavyweight championship and has beaten an array of fellow contenders. Included among his list of victims are the scalps of Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, Andrew Golota, Kirk Johnson and Jameel McCline.

However, ‘The Quiet Man’ is perhaps best remembered for losing his WBA title in mega-fights with middleweights-moving-up Roy Jones and James Toney.

Now entering the final chapter of his excellent pro career, Ruiz is looking to complete a hat-trick of title wins against Haye. Like ‘The Hayemaker’, Ruiz also appeared on the big bill in Nuremberg, stopping Adnan Serin in seven one-sided rounds.

“I know I’m going to have to be much better than I was tonight (against Serin) when I face Haye,” admitted Ruiz. “This was a tune-up fight for me and one I needed to get through without too much difficulty. I was trying a few new things in there and am getting used to finding my feet again.

“Haye is a quick, sharp guy with good speed and slickness. I know I’m going to have to cut off the ring on him and throw lots of punches. I’m ready for a war.”