NUREMBERG, Germany (AP) — David Haye won the WBA heavyweight championship in surprising Nikolai Valuev by a majority decision on Saturday.

The brash British boxer used his superior quickness against the huge Russian, who came close to being knocked down for the first time in his 16-year pro career in the final round.

“The key was my speed,'' Haye said. “People don't realize I am very fast. And I have a powerful punch. I'm athletic and if I wasn't a boxer I would be playing football or rugby.''

Haye, a former cruiserweight world champion, won his third heavyweight fight to improve to 23-1 with 21 KOs, despite giving up nearly a foot and nearly 100 pounds to the tallest and heaviest champion in history.

“Everybody thought I was crazy. But I knew I could make him miss,'' Haye said.

Haye won over the judges with two scores of 116-112, while a third called it 114-114.

His first defense of the WBA belt will be against former titleholder John Ruiz, who earlier beat German Adnan Serin in the seventh round by TKO.

“He's a good fighter who is very underrated,'' Haye said of Ruiz. “He is not the most spectacular, but I don't feel like I will struggle with him. He's about the same size as me and I think I will knock him out.''

Valuev's record dropped to 50-2 with 34 KOs, and he admitted Haye was too quick.

“Tonight only one thing happened that I didn't expect,'' Valuev said. “It was like a marathon for me. It was like a track event. I wasn't ready to run that much.

“The judges made their scoring and I think the last round made the difference, especially the end of it.''

Haye tried to keep Valuev on the move and opened with a left to the Russian's chin and a powerful combo, while Valuev struggled to catch Haye, finding him only with left jabs.