Haye gave away his titles at cruiserweight and moved up to the heavyweight division. He beat Monte Barrett on 15 November 2008, winning in the fifth round. Before the fight, he said fighting Barrett was a big risk and that he might have retired if he lost. He was meant to fight Wladimir on 20 June 2009, but pulled out. On 31 October 2009, he beat Nikolai Valuev, who is 7 feet tall, to become the WBA champion. Haye was 98 pounds lighter than Valuev; before this fight, no-one had won a heavyweight title match weighing this much less than their opponent. Haye said he has wanted to be the heavyweight champion since he was a toddler. He then beat John Ruiz on 3 April 2010 and Audley Harrison on 13 November 2010. He now says he wants to fight Wladimir or his brother Vitali, who holds the WBC belt. The two brothers are regarded as the best heavyweights in the world. Haye says he plans to retire before his 31st birthday.