By Scott Gilfoid: Forget about World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) facing both of the Klitschko brothers right now, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KO’s) thinks that Haye needs to prove himself against the top contenders in the heavyweight division before he takes on the best heavyweights in the division in WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko and IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. I totally agree with Tyson. What is up with Haye taking the back door to the title?
In an article at Sky Sports, the 44-yer-old Tyson says “He’s [Haye} good, he;s a good fighter. He has to establish himself as a champion. Believe it or not, he has to be the likes of Chris Arreola. He has to beat all these guys. He doesn’t have to beat the Klitschko guys, he’s got to beat the up and coming guys like Arreola and the Russian guys. He has to establish himself and then fight the Klitschkos.” What Tyson says makes a lot of sense.
Haye has done things the opposite way around, getting a quick title shot against the weakest of the heavyweight champions WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev and then beating him by a narrow decision last year after having beaten the B level heavyweight Monte Barrett. Now that Haye is the champion, he’s defended it once against 38-year-old John Ruiz. Haye hasn’t been talking about who he’ll be facing next, but Haye could take on someone like Tomasz Adamek or Audley Harrison next.
If Haye fights Adamek, he would be doing a good job of following the advice given by Tyson. However, if he faces 38-year-old Harrison, it would be more of the same with Haye taking on weaker opposition. One problem that could keep Haye from fighting the top contenders in the heavyweight division before facing the Klitschko brothers is that Haye has said he wants to retire by his 31st birthday.
Given that Haye is 29 now, he doesn’t have enough time to squeeze in many fights against the top contenders in the heavyweight division before he needs to start facing the Klitschko brothers. Things were much easier for Tyson when he was coming up, because he had much better hand speed compared to Haye, better power by far and a superior chin.
Tyson also fought a lot more than Haye early in his career and it was easy for him to beat the top contenders before winning his first heavyweight title at age 19. Haye was active early in his career, but has slowed down since 2008, fighting less often. It would be nice, though, if Haye did take on some of the top heavyweights like Arreola, Odlanier Solis and Alexander Dimitrenko. I don’t see that happening.
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