By Simon Hirst: There’s currently a lot of speculation as to whom David Haye is actually going to fight next. Most reports indicate it will be for a World title against one of the Klitschko brothers. I’m personally not sure if he has enough experience in the Heavyweight division to challenge just yet and would like to see him have a tune up fight.
However, should the opportunity come along to fight for a World Title, most fighters see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity and don’t take it for granted. They may not be ready, they may not be good enough, but if the chance is there, you have to grasp it because you may never see it again. Haye against the Klitschko’s may turn out to be like Lockett vs Pavlik, but put it this way, if Lockett never took that fight, he would never have known two things. One if he’d have got another opportunity or two, if he could have beaten Pavlik. For all we know, he could have rejected the chance to do a Lloyd Honeyghan against Don Currie.
Despite my doubts about Haye being ready, I oppose any comments about Haye having to work his way up. Commonly in boxing, fighters have moved from one division to another and regained where ever they have been. Ricky Hatton moved up to Welterweight straight into a title fight that he arguably, but officially won. We would never see great fights happen if we had to send them down the next division to work themselves up again. Imagine if De La Hoya vs Mayweather didn’t happen because Mayweather needed to prove himself as a Light Middleweight first? It would be ridiculous and should be an exception for the Heavyweight.
I don’t believe Haye will ever move down to Cruiserweight again, even if he loses. He spent eight months after beat Maccarinelli building his body into a heavyweight’s body and to lose all that weight would be unhealthy and take a long time to do it properly. Haye has as much right to challenge for the title as any other guy in the division. He’s the #5 in the WBC rankings, #6 in the WBA rankings (from November 08), #2 in the WBO, although bizarrely doesn’t make the IBF rankings. That’s proof enough for me that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the division and deserves to have a shot.
Like most fighters, Haye is not unbeatable and has his strengths and weaknesses. Now, looking at his strengths, he’s quite a lean heavyweight, has a fair amount of power with one of the highest KO records in boxing, only going the distance once. He has maintained most his speed, which he claims will be pivotal in winning the world title. On a English sports program called ‘Soccer AM’ he claims that heavyweights punch slower, but harder, which whilst may seem logical, demonstrates that if he can use his speed, then he can miss a lot of punches and at worst, slide of them to cushion the blow. His weak spots are a suspect chin, having been down a few times in his career at Cruiserweight, and although he was put on his arse against Barrett, it wasn’t a legit knockdown and only took his time getting up because he got hit with a shot whilst down. He may have milked that shot for a bit of rest time, but at the same time, he was giving Barrett some time to recover and he obviously watched the Calzaghe vs Hopkins fight (where Hopkins milked a shot slightly below the belt). Another disadvantage he holds is his size. He’s a much smaller guy than the Klitschko’s and for a lot of heavyweights for that matter. He will suffer in reach and perhaps power, but he know the risks in this and will no doubt try to limit these advantages for his opponents.
The fact is this, Haye knows egg could splatter all over his face should he fail to win any fight at heavyweight, but he’s an exciting fighter who has a lot of potential and could genuinely win the heavyweight title. The state of the division in comparison to previous eras is poor and is there for the taking for not just Haye, but any heavyweight. Haye is confident he can win it, but knows that it is easier said than done. He will have his chance to do that in 2009. The question for Haye is is the reward worth the risk and the simple answer to it is yes. With the reward comes the status of being world heavyweight champion, sticking to his goal, breathing life into the division and earning lots of money doing it. The risk is losing the fight and not winning the title. If you had as much confidence as Haye and truly believed in your own abilities to achieve this, then yes, the risk is worth the reward regardless of whether he wins the title or not and he should not be lambasted for attempting this.
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