David Haye: Senegal trip showed the real power of title belt

It is said that winning a world title can improve a fighter by up to 100 per cent. It is also said that it can be a life-changing experience. I definitely agree with both those statements.

Becoming heavyweight champion of the world allows you to walk tall and proud among your boxing peers and to train and perform with even more confidence. I've never had to worry about confidence but winning this title has moved me on to the next level.

I also now realise just how important the belt is and how my position in the sporting world has shifted. Since last posting this diary for the Standard, ahead of my world championship challenge to Russian giant Nikolai Valuev last November, my life has changed dramatically.

That win earned the kind of attention every boxer dreams of. It seemed the fight really captured the imagination of the British public and everybody tuned in to see whether David could truly slay Goliath.

Since then I've been recognised more and more in the streets and I can reveal I haven't had to buy myself a drink or pay for a parking ticket!

What really put my title win in perspective, however, was a trip I made in January to Senegal. I took my WBA world heavyweight belt with me and came back with some very special memories.

I saw the tiny cells in which slave-traders used to cram up to 20 men. I then spent time among polio victims and young kids growing up at schools for abandoned infants. I was lucky enough to watch a local boxing show, where young men fought tooth-and-nail for nothing more than pride and the love of the sport.

Although none of the young kids owned televisions, I was followed wherever I went by well-wishers. They would run after me and shout "fighting man, fighting man". They had never seen me box but they recognised me as a champion.

That trip humbled me. It also signalled the value of the world heavyweight title. I would never have been invited to Africa if I hadn't conquered Goliath. The title has given me opportunities and power and I'm going to maximise both, starting with a spectacular first defence against Ruiz.

I now know the real power of that belt and I don't intend to lose it.

The fight will be screened live and exclusively on Sky Box Office.