By Chris Williams: In looking at the fuss that is being made about the David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko bout that takes place on June 20th, I can’t help thinking that Haye is wasting his time by living and fighting in the UK. The money over there is smaller, the media attention doesn’t compare to the U.S, and the chances to take advantage of endorsements, of course, are probably much lesser as well.
England is about the size of one of the smaller states in the U.S, similar to Idaho, and doesn’t have anywhere near the same population in the U.S. Naturally, with a smaller population comes less fans and less opportunities to make big money.
The taxes are higher in England, so even when someone makes a lot of money, much of it is taken away by the stiff tax rates. Perhaps most important of all is that Haye doesn’t seem like he’s appreciated or even well liked in the UK. Perhaps it’s because of his cocky attitude which is the opposite of the average person in England.
Most British people are quite modest about their accomplishments, so when they see someone like Haye coming across as a little bold and sounding a little egotistical, the fans are put off. On the other hand, Haye’s personality of quite normal for people in the U.S., which is used to people like him and reward them financially by giving them more media attention and the like.
Haye has accomplished a lot in tiny England, but if he were to live in the U.S., his accomplishments would be much bigger than they are now, perhaps even approaching an Oscar De La Hoya status. By this point in Haye’s career, he would likely be worth tens of millions of dollars if he were an American and not sheltered in Britain. Haye has little support in England from fans, which is really kind of sad.
What makes it even worse is that you have a fighter like Ricky Hatton, who I feel hasn’t always fought the best of opponents during his career, that is a much bigger star than Haye probably ever will be in the UK. That’s not because Hatton is more talented or that his fights or more exciting, it’s because the UK fans don’t really seem to like him who he is.
Maybe it’s because of his ego, or that he’s not a regular type of guy that likes to drink a lot of the pubs, watch soccer or throw darts all night long. It’s probably a mixture of all of these items, but whatever the case, Haye isn’t the kind of star that he should be. And the sad thing is, if he’s not that big of a star at 28, having accomplished quite a bit in his career, I can’t see that changing much regardless of whether be beats up Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali.
In the end, Haye will still be a big fish in a small pond, wasting his time in a country that’s too small, with too few opportunities and with a fans base that’s lukewarm towards him.
If Haye were an American, he’d be the hugest boxing star in the country by now, probably drawing comparisons to a young Mike Tyson. Instead, Haye languishes in Britain and is considered a rung down from Hatton and other such stars like Joe Calzaghe. What a waste. Haye needs to get a clue and leave that place and immigrate to the U.S. before he wastes anymore of his career.
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