By Chris Williams: For months now, David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) has been saying how he wants to get close enough to IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (52-3, 46 KOs) to land a big shot and knock the Ukrainian out in their June 20th bout at the Veltins Arena, in Gelsenkirchen. I think this is the wrong strategy for Haye to be using on Wladimir, mainly because Haye really doesn’t appear to hit all that hard compared to the other heavyweights in the division.
What Haye needs to do to beat the thirty-three-year-old Klitschko is to try and pressure him constantly and not let up. Other than Corrie Sanders, the only fighters that were able to beat Wladimir were pressure fighters Lamon Brewster and Ross Purity, both of whom kept attacking Wladimir without letup in the fight until he was worn down.
I’d say that both Purity and Brewster are bigger punchers than Haye. Wladimir was able to take their shots for a certain amount of time before wearing down and getting knocked out. Haye seems to be going about this fight all wrong if he thinks he’s just going to go out and land a homerun punch and be done with it.
That kind of thing might work in the cruiserweight division against the dreadful opposition that Haye was fighting for most of his career, but not against a good heavyweight like Wladimir Klitschko. If Haye tries to knock Wladimir out with one punch, David will get hit with something on the way in as he’s trying to punch.
And if Haye does land something big, he’ll likely only anger Wladimir and cause him to fire back with a shot that will likely take Haye’s head off. The last thing that Haye needs with his glass jaw is to try and turn the fight into a war.
This is why Haye needs to back Wladimir with a jab and once he gets him to the ropes try to land some moderately hard punches to the head. Again, I wouldn’t load up with a shot because it won’t be necessary and it will only get Haye tired much quicker and knocked out when Wladimir fires back the first big punch.
In reality, Haye is only one step removed from the typical British regional heavyweight, and probably not even world class when it comes to the heavyweight division. Haye’s whole thing was his accomplishments as a cruiserweight over a handful of mediocre fighters.
When you take a British heavyweight that hasn’t been in with the top level fighters and then throw them in with a good heavyweight like Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko, bad things happen. Case in point, Danny Williams’ demolition by Vitali in 2004.
With Haye’s lack of quality opponents in his career, it is imperative that he doesn’t just try to bum rush Wladimir like an imbecile and get knocked out. Haye needs to try and be smart by focusing on gradually wearing Wladimir down rather than spazing out and trying a primitive attempt at knocking Klitschko out.
Haye needs to try and keep his fragile glass jaw protected in the early rounds as much as possible. Once Haye gets Wladimir to the 10th or the 11th, then Haye should try and go for the knockout, if Haye lasts that long. I doubt Haye will because he’ll try to take Wladimir out immediately and end up getting knocked himself.
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