By Simon Hirst: Last weekend, David Haye defeated Monte Barrett after knocking him down five times before the referee stopped it. Haye came in the ring looking calm and confident and throughout the fight, never looked in huge trouble. Barrett was largely ineffective with his wild throws and Haye used his speed to avoid the good majority of these, if not all of them.
We all thought the finish would come when Barrett first went down in the third round and despite going down again in the third, managed to survive. Then Barrett went down twice in the fourth and once again, Haye managed to survive until the bell. It was finally ended in the fifth and rightly so after a lethal combination by Haye, with the second punch, the right hand being the key punch that really did the damage. The referee stopped it; with Barrett never going to recover from both the beating he was given or on the scorecards in which he must have been at least 7/8 points behind.
Haye immediately went on to challenge the Klitschko’s, but the question remains, is Haye ready? My opinion is not yet. The Barrett fight proved he can stop people at heavyweight. The fight was exciting with 5 knockdowns, a terrible entrance and the fight being stopped. There was a spark in the 02 Arena, something that has been missing from the heavyweight division. Haye is a new exciting addition to the division and does have the ability, but at the moment, he doesn’t have the experience. He certainly needs another 2 fights before challenging either one. If I was David Haye, I would challenge Wladimir first on the basis that he is more beatable and as Haye only has 23 fights of professional experience, it would seem logical for Haye to do it in that order.
So who can offer Haye some good experience in his quest to become World Heavyweight Champion? Here are a few people who he should consider. Agree and disagree at your leisure and I would be interested in some feedback on this. Three people stuck out to me after viewing a list of heavyweights. I will do this in the order I believe he should face them in. Undefeated Alexander Povetkin. I think a fight with him and providing he would win this fight would see Haye become more respected in the heavyweight division. Povetkin is still up and coming in the division, has a good win over Byrd and would be a decent challenge for Haye. Then I would move onto Samuel Peter. Peter looked terrible in his last fight against Vitali Klitschko and a fight with Peter would test Haye’s chin at heavyweight and give a much better indication to how good Haye is compared to Barrett. It would depend on scheduling on whether Haye could have another fight before the Klitschko fight. If he had time, I’d recommend Chaguev. Whether Haye would beat the Klitschko’s, we don’t know, but wins over these opponents would propel him into a good position and give him good experience that could prove vital in his challenge.
This Saturday night, Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton returns to ‘the scene of the crime’ to take on loud mouth American Paulie Malignaggi. This one has the potential to be a cracker. As the posters read in Vegas, its power vs precision. Hatton is on the decline it would seem, but the decision to hire Floyd Snr has baffled some and excited others. Either way, it’s an interesting prospect that puts a different twist on this. Hatton, who seems more fitter and focused claims he’s better than ever. Then we have Paulie Malignaggi, who after a few disappointing performances, believes he has Ricky Hatton’s number. The key to this fight for me lies with Malignaggi. If Malignaggi utilizes his speed and counter punching accuracy, a bit like Mayweather did, Hatton could be in for a rough night. If Malignaggi doesn’t use these, it could be a long night for Malignaggi. Whilst the key to the fight lies with Malignaggi, of course, this depends on what Ricky Hatton turns up. If the usual Ricky Hatton appears, then it’s as I said, but it will be interesting to see how and how much Hatton has been tweaked by Mayweather and what effect this has on Hatton. My money remains with Hatton having too much for young Paulie!
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