By John F. McKenna (McJack): When discussing former World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion David Haye in years to come what will be his legacy? Many of Haye’s diehard fans think that people will hearken back to the glory days when he came up through the ranks and became the cruiserweight champion.

After dominating the cruiserweight division in convincing fashion, “The Hayemaker”, as his adoring British fans refer to him, decided to move up and test the waters in the heavyweight division. Haye bowed out of a title fight with reigning heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko in June 2009 citing injury. Later in the summer of 2009 David also pulled out of a fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Haye later reappeared and announce that he had inked a contract to fight 7’2” Russian giant WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev in November of 2009. Haye won a decision over Valuev and took his WBA title.

Over the next eighteen months David Haye traded barbs and basically trash talked his way into a 50/50 deal to fight Wladimir Klitschko in a title unification fight. The fight was held this past July 2nd.

Haye despite all the trash talk of what he was going to do to Vladmir when he finally faced him in the ring, failed miserably, barely winning a round.

To make matters worse Haye had a strange strategy to win. First of all before the fight he trash talked Vladimir for months in an effort to get him to crack or as trainer Teddy Atlas puts it “take him to a weaker place.” Failing in that attempt when the match ensued “The Hayemaker” resorted to a strategy of flopping to the canvas whenever it appeared that “Dr. Steelhammer” was getting close enough to do him bodily harm.

That strategy also failed, although amazingly the referee did deduct a point from Vladimir for pushing Haye to the canvas. Eventually after several more flop downs the referee caught on and called one of Haye’s theatrical falls to the canvas a knockdown.

The fight was boring, and it’s ironic that David Haye is the one who made it boring by refusing to engage Vladimir. Haye as part of his constant criticism of the Klitscho’s had accused them of being boring.

Despite what Haye’s hardcore fans may think or hope for, David will not be remembered for his earlier successes in the ring. He won’t be remembered for winning the cruiserweight title or for his defenses of that title. Nor will he be remembered for defeating Nikolai Valuev or his defenses of his WBA crown. What David Haye will be long remembered for is his dismal performance against Wladimir Klitschko and his stranding on the table to show the world his inured pinky toe.

In the scheme of things you are not remembered in life for the weaker tests you have endured. You are only remembered for your toughest challenges.

The only thing that heavyweight champion Jess Willard is remembered for is the annihilation he suffered at the hands of Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1919. The reality is that Willard was a pretty good fighter who at the age of 37 had never been knocked down.

His right hand was such that he killed a man in the ring with it and eventually knocked out Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the heavyweight title in 1915. For the remainder of his life however, Jess was remembered only for his loss to Dempsey.