Haye: I put backsides in seats; I bring value to a Vitali fight

By William Mackay: It’s no secret that David Haye has been involved with two of the worst fights in recent years with his Audley Harrison and Wladimir Klitschko fights, which were expensive pay per view bouts where the boxing public got very little value for the money they dished out to watch Haye fight. We all know that Haye destroyed a timid Harrison after throwing precious few punches in the first two rounds of the fight.

Haye followed that poor effort with a 12 round decision loss to IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko last July in a fight where Haye did little more than flop on the canvas repeatedly, run around the ring and use feints. Haye made excuses after the fight that he counted punch hard with his right hand because he had come into the fight with a broken baby toe.

Haye now thinks he can pack boxing fans in for a fight between him at WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, and sees himself as bringing fans to a fight like that. My thoughts are that Haye might have burned some bridges with his last two fights, and the fans that he’s counting on to buy tickets for a fight between him and Vitali may not be there.

Haye told the BBC “I’m not like a usual contender. I bring excitement. I put bums in the seats. I know I bring a value.”

The value that Haye brings is really questionable at this point. To be sure, Haye looked good against 38-year-old John Ruiz and 38-year-old Monte Barrett. But he didn’t impress against Nikolay Valuev, Harrison and Wladimir. So is Vitali wasting his time fighting a guy like Haye who has angered his fans rather than pleased them lately? Can Haye still put bums in the seats like he says? Trash talking works when you can back it up consistently but when that’s all you got, people see through that and stop believing. I think this fight could be a huge disappointment in terms of television revenue. I’m sure it’ll sell out in Germany because the Klitschkos fight in front of sold arena even when fighting fringe contenders. Vitali doesn’t need Haye to pack an arena in Germany.