By Dan Ambrose: Having been a big fan of David Haye for a number of years, it disappoints me to see him going a little unhinged recently with his desire to fight not only Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF/WBO heavyweight champion, but also his brother Vitali. It seems as if Haye’s ambition is way above his current skill set and physical limitations.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight the Klitschko brothers if I actually thought he could beat either of them, but at this present time, I don’t give him much of a chance of beating either. I think he has a puncher’s chance against Wladimir, but only if he can land a lucky punch in the first round or two.
Against Vitali, Haye will take a serious beating, bad enough to possibly do a lot of damage to his once promising heavyweight career. In that case, I would hope that Haye’s training team throws in the towel like they did against Carl Thompson to save him from needless punishment in the ring. He’s get his big paycheck for having fought the brothers, but at least he’d escape without being permanently damaged by one of them.
Under the best scenario, Haye would probably be much better off going after World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, who has neither the power punch nor jabs that the Klitschko brothers possess and because of that, he’d be a much more beatable foe for Haye to warm up against.
I think that’s a title that Haye could actually win, and possibly hold onto for awhile until he’s forced to fight one of his major challengers such as Alexander Dimitrenko, who at 6’7”, will probably beat Haye as easily as the Klitschko brothers will.
The main thing is, however, that Haye avoid getting in the ring with the Klitschko brothers right now because he doesn’t have the experience, chin or size to beat either of them and will take a serious beating. If he stays in the ring for 5 more years, then that would be the best time to try and go after whoever’s left, in this case probably Wladimir.
By then, Wladimir will be 37 years-old, slower and more susceptible to getting taken out by a still relatively young 32 year-old Haye. Short of that, however, I see Haye getting beaten badly like an old drum by Wladimir and Vitali. Being ambitious is good, but in Haye’s case, he seems to be seeking out an office that he doesn’t have the size, training or ability to attain at this point.
If he wants the position, he needs to work long and hard to try and develop the needed to skills to beat giants like the Klitschko brothers, but without the work, he’s most probably just going to look over-matched and outclassed should he get in the ring with either of them. 2009 is going to be a big year for him, with almost definitely a fight coming up against Wladimir.
If Haye does by chance get lucky by defeating Wladimir, which would probably be like winning the lottery, then I see a lot of pain in store for him in a payback fight with Vitali. Believe me, Haye wouldn’t win that fight, not in this lifetime.
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