By Ricky Hale: After seeing David Haye’s one sided destruction Audley ‘A-Force’ Harrison (snigger) I am going to resist the urge to get carried away. I can’t fathom how a guy with Audley’s size can refuse to throw a shot back when a guy like David Haye comes swinging at you.
In my last article I rightfully questioned Harrison’s stamina but it was an error not to place a question mark on his heart. I respect any man who has the courage to climb in the ring as believe me it is one of the most daunting things you can ever do. Harrison had the physical tools to hurt Haye but unfortunately he lacked the psychological make up.
Still, one thing that I am confident about is that David Haye has the tools to take out Wladimir Klitschko, but I am not quite so sure about Vitali… Wladimir Klitschko is a talented boxer who in some respects could be (perhaps unfairly) compared with Harrison. Wladimir is undoubtedly a cut above Harrison but the similarities are obvious. Both guys have looked vulnerable in the past and been badly knocked out, but both guys have the size and the physical tools to hurt anyone.
The major difference is that Wladimir has learnt how to compensate for his vulnerabilities and use those aforementioned tools to his advantage. However, when I see some of his earlier fights I still feel that the man is certainly beatable. Wladimir is very talented, but let’s face it he is negative and boring. This will play right into David Haye’s hands.
David Haye, when he’s on form, moves well and is able to avoid the jab, thus nullifying one of Wladimir’s biggest weapons. I also believe that Haye has the speed to catch Wladimir flat-footed and over-whelm him in the same way that he did Harrison. Now you are all rightfully going to be quick to point out that Wladimir is a couple of levels above Audley Harrison but in reality this should not make too much of a difference. Haye has too much speed, power and movement and I don’t think Wladimir can answer this. I believe Haye would knock Wladimir out in the mid-to-late rounds.
Now onto Vitali, who is in my opinion the better of the two brothers. I look back at Vitali’s impressive performance against Lennox Lewis where he lost (albeit in a heroic manner.) Vitali lost the fight fair and square but he showed tremendous heart and a great chin. He never stopped throwing punches and at one point almost stopped Lewis. I believe Lewis had a better defence than Haye, so if Vitali at 37 is still able to perform at that level Haye may be in trouble.
I like to always put myself on the line and make a prediction but I find it hard to separate these two. I believe if Haye is patient and cautious these two fighters may draw, however if Haye gets rash and impatient and dives in like he did against Audley then Vitali may be able to take him out with his size advantage. I see Haye as being a slight underdog in this fight and he may have to improve a little to defeat Vitali.
One thing is for certain though, David Haye has to stop making excuses and fight one of these two next. I can’t see any other plausible opponent for him and no true boxing fan should settle for anything less.
Comments are closed.