Veteran American John Ruiz plans to outpunch and outlast David Haye in Saturday's WBA heavyweight world title showdown at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

Ruiz brings a 44-8-1 record to the fight, which will be televised live on Sky Box Office HD, but is rated a big underdog to claim the Briton's crown.

It will be the 11th time the 38-year-old has fought for a world title - he has held it twice - with two of those last three bouts being against Russian man-mountain Nikolai Valuev, both of which he lost on points.

Ruiz has also been on the wrong side of world title decisions against Ruslan Chagaev, Roy Jones Jr and Evander Holyfied, but is confident that his plan of bombarding Haye (23-1) with more than 50 punches a round will pay off.

"That is the kind of pace I need to set," he told Sky Sports News. "If I don't set that kind of pace then I might as well pack my bags now and go home. That is my game plan, to fight him and stay on him and make sure that he is in for a long one here.

"I'm American. They consider me the last hope, I guess. The last hope to bring a title back home. I am going to rise to that challenge. I love a challenge and I think this is a great opportunity for me.

"I am excited. I feel blessed and honoured to have had a wonderful career and still be in there. I know for sure that I have more to prove, and I think in this fight it is going to show."