David Haye received a hero's welcome when he arrived back in Britain last night and could not resist aiming one final blow at his vanquished opponent, Nikolay Valuev.

The new WBA world heavyweight champion waved to fans at Stansted Airport in Essex and joked: "I can't wear my belt - it's too big," in reference to his victim's enormous 7ft, 23st frame.

With more than 100 supporters braving the cold to congratulate the South London fighter, Haye admitted the reality of what he had achieved was only beginning to sink in. "I was expecting about ten or 12 of my close mates here tonight, but this is strange," he said. "It's been a weird 24 hours.

"This time yesterday I was in my hotel waiting for the fight but now, boom, I'm world champion. I am looking forward to relaxing with my family now and getting away for a bit."

Haye will make his first defence against the WBA's mandatory opponent, John Ruiz, and expects little trouble against the two-times former world champion. "Ruiz is a good fighter, very underrated," Haye said. "He's not the most entertaining of former champions but he's won championships on several occasions and you don't do that through being a bad fighter.

"I don't feel I'd struggle with him in any way, though. He's pretty much the same size as me and I think I'd just be way too fast and knock him out."

Should he beat Ruiz, Haye will seek to unify the belts in the heavyweight division. "This is the start of big things to come," Haye said. "Valuev felt like the best chin in the world in any weight division and I know there are a few other big guys around who won't be able to take that sort of punishment. I'm looking forward to cleaning up the division. I want anyone who has got a belt, that's why I moved up to heavyweight.

"I said I want to be unified champion and the Klitschkos [Vitali and Wladimir, who hold the WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO titles between them] are definitely in my sights. Unfortunately, the fight [against Wladimir earlier this year] didn't happen. But if it had, I wouldn't have been fighting Valuev now and I would have been locked down on that crazy contract they tried to get me to sign.

"I was very happy with the terms of this one so I am free now to move forward with my career."

Haye was also open to the idea of a rematch with Valuev after a tight contest. "If he gets back in line and [has] some good wins under his belt then yes," he said. "I know everyone loved the fight and I'm sure he'll come with a better strategy next time. But so will I. So if the fight happens again, I'll be more than happy to do it."