Hearn wants Haye and Bellew apart until Saturday – Live Stream

By Boxing News - 02/27/2017 - Comments

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By Scott Gilfoid: British promoter Eddie Hearn has his work cut out for him in keeping former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and his confrontational fighter Tony Bellew apart this week for the press conferences and the weigh-in before they face each other this Saturday night on March 4 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Last November. Bellew shoved Haye really hard during a face off. Haye instinctively swatted the 33-year-old Bellew with a left hand to the chin. The British Boxing Board of Control didn’t take too kindly to the fisticuffs, as they warned both fighters not to do it again.

Hearn is talking about creating a fence to keep Bellew and Haye apart. It would be a similar type of fence that kept Haye and British heavyweight Dereck Chisora apart during the press conferences for their fight in 2012. Haye and Chisora had gotten into it previously at the Chisora – Vitali Klitschko post-fight press conference in 2012.

“My original plan was to keep them eight-ten feet apart but I’d like them face to face,” Hearn said to skysports.com.”The only way we can do that is with something separating them. A Perspex wall? If there’s any fence suppliers, favorable rates apply, and we’d be very pleased with some assistance.”

Hearn should keep Bellew and Haye apart, because nothing good can come of them meeting face to face before their fight on Saturday.

We’re down to the last week before the Haye-Bellew fight on Saturday night. The boxing fans are going to watch the fight whether the two fighters meet face to face. I think there are a lot of fans who wonder whether Bellew can pull off an upset of the 36-year-old Haye. Hearn has done a splendid job of matching Bellew only against beatable cruiserweights instead of the good ones since he moved up to that division.

If you look at all the guys that Hearn has matched Bellew against, they were all fighters that you more or less knew couldn’t beat him. Hearn didn’t risk Bellew’s hide by putting him in with the talented fighters at cruiserweight like Murat Gassiev, Oleksandr Usyk, Denis Lebedev, Mairis Briedis, and Marco Huck. Those are a murderer’s row of talents that Hearn never put Bellew in with. As such, I think Bellew’s boxing fans don’t quite realize that he’s still the same fighter that was trounced by Adonis Stevenson in 2013. The only thing that’s changed is Hearn has put Bellew in with a lot of soft cruiserweights and gotten him a World Boxing Council cruiserweight title with one of his soft matches.

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I think Hearn is making a big deal about his putting Haye and Bellew in proximity with one another. I don’t see it really mattering whether the two fighters have a face off or not. The boxing fans will purchase the fight on Sky Box Office PV whether they have a face off or not. The fans just want to see the Haye-Bellew fight for some reason.

Speaking for myself, I don’t see what the fuss is over the Haye-Bellew fight. It’s a mismatch and has always has been from the moment the fight was made. I’m curious to see the fight the way I would if I were to drive by a fender bender on the highway. I’m mildly curious about the fight, but it’s not a fight that I see as having a lot of meaning. It’s more of a circus-level fight than anything. In looking at how Hearn has matched Bellew since he moved up to the cruiserweight division in 2014.

As for who will win the Haye-Bellew fight, I see it as a basic mismatch with Haye knocking Bellew out in the 1st round if he wants to. If Bellew lands anything in the 1st round, I think Haye will take him out immediately. If Bellew plays it safe by jabbing and running, then Haye will let him make it to the 2nd round. I don’t see the fight going past the 2nd though. Haye isn’t going to want to leave Bellew out there for long, because he doesn’t get paid for overtime. Haye will want to blast Bellew out so he can prevent the fight from going into the later rounds where his stamina might be tested.