By Gav Bridges: As November 7th looms ever closer, inevitably more and more of the pages within this forum will start to focus on the WBA Heavyweight title fight between “The Russian Giant” Nikolai Valuev and “The Hayemaker”, David Haye. Already there have been dismissive calls about the potential of Haye in this fight, and his overall abilities, so in the interests of balanced journalism I have attempted here to show a balanced view of the fight, looking at the pros and cons from the Haye side of the equation.
A lot has been made of the inactivity of David Haye, yet in the same breathe a similar accusation can be leveled at Valuev. In this point I wish to direct us all to what I see being the crux of this matter – the Klitschko brothers. Both David and Nikolai have made attempts to get in the ring with either or both of the brothers, yet their endless stipulations, whys and wherefores tied up in their contracts has left it virtually impossible for bouts to take place. This point cannot be leveled at our combatants, as the deal was signed, sealed and delivered in what seemed like the blink of an eye, with both men leveling criticism at Vit and Wlad for their rambunctious attitudes in negotiations, and I for one am glad that the focus of this bout is on the bout itself, and not a papertrail of Watergate proportions.
Now that matter has hopefully been dealt with to a conclusion, lets get to the fight itself. Many dissenting cries have been heard, such as ‘Hayes taking the easy option’ yet in the same breath he is being accused of being like a lamb to the slaughter. Lets make no mistake here, seven of Valuev’s last nine bouts have been for a title, so rightly or wrongly he has been mixing it at championship level for some years now, so easier option it may be regarded, but Haye has been labeled as unready and unworthy to fight a Klitschko up to press, surely this is the kind of bout that will merit him as worthy, or am I missing the glaringly obvious here?
Also, ‘chinny’ Haye. True, he went down, somewhat illegally, against Monte Barret, a boxer regarded as well past his best at that stage. Yet in his previous fight against the much-vaunted Tye Fields he devastated the chin of the Great White Dope, isnt it strange how opinions change through subjectivity? Prior to that, he was put down by Jean-Marc Mormeck, with a legitimate shot, and what was the outcome? He rose from the canvas to pound his opponent to defeat, showing little ill-effect of a blow that by and large would have meant ‘lights out’ to nigh on ANY other boxer on this planet. Lets go back further, to his stoppage defeat to Carl Thompson. For four rouinds Haye owned Thompson, and a mixture of naivety, nervous energy and wily ringcraft from Thompson led to his defeat. Make no bones about it, Thompson himself was a fearsome puncher, yet Haye was not counted out, he finished the fight on his feet. I recall Cassius Clay being laid prone by Henry Coopers ‘Ammer, Lennox Lewis TWICE being counted out, yet these men hardly find themselves so castigated these days. Sure, Haye can be caught, sure he can be floored too, but doesnt this just add to the excitement he brings to the ring? A fight that can be over in the blink of an eye either way, this is the kind of drama the Heavies need right now, not the overblown fencing matches we have been served up of late for the Gold Marque title fights.
Now to the bout. Haye has a real chance here. Obviously the height differential is important, how could it not be? Yet Nikolai never seems to fight his full size, especially of late, where old Father time most certainly seems to be taking hold. The bouts where he has particularly struggled; Holyfield, Chagaev etc., when he is crowded in, getting pounded by pace he looks particularly uncomfortable. One of Hayes great assets is his ability to close his opponent down and fire series of bombs, lots of which come from angles that Valuev will not have encountered before, and few with the concussive power the Hayemaker brings. This to me is where the fight is won or lost for the Brit. If he can negate the pole-like arms and work his way to Valuev, using a combination of quick in-and-out footwork and moving in from the sides whilst launching those bombs i refer to earlier, not only do i think Haye can win, I truly feel he can be the first man to stop “Goliath”.
To summarize, at last we will have a Heavyweight title fight to re-ignite the division, rekindle interest and return Boxing to the pinnacle of combat sport. In the remaining months of 2009 Boxing will bring the year to an end with a bang not a whimper, and as fans one and all, aint it great!! My pallet is whetted!
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