By Ben James: Last weekend I published a series of predictions for boxing match ups set to take place before the end of the year. Two of these fights will happen this Saturday night. So I thought I would take the time to explain my theory behind one of my predictions in more detail.
Here is my prediction from a previous article:
“David Haye vs Audley Harrison
PREDICTION: David Haye via TKO
REASON: You can not ignore the fact that Audley Harrison has upped his game and matured as a fight in the past year or so, but you cant ignore the fact that he has not come close to facing or beating anyone on the same level as the champion David Haye. This is the same Harrison who lost to taxi driver Martin Rogan less than 2 years ago. At the age of 38 I do not believe he can improve enough to beat David Haye.
Harrison has this nasty habit of freezing when he is under pressure in the ring, he has never been in the ring with someone with Hayes power, I think soon as Haye starts to come forward Harrison will go back into his shell and eventually the fight will be stopped by the ref.
Having said all this I will still give Harrison a punchers chance of beating Haye, after all this is heavyweight boxing and anybody can get knocked out if hit by a lucky punch.”
I believe the fight will go like this: Haye will start slower than he did in his last fight, he will try and bait Harrison into attacking, but when these attacks come Haye will run until he starts to feel out Audley and gain his range.
In the second and third rounds David is going to start throwing his usual bombs at every chance while Harrison attempts to counter and be smart.
Eventually Harrison is going to slip back into his old ways, humans are creatures of habit and when it hits the fan we will all revert back to our habits. This is when Audley will stop throwing punches and start to freeze up, he will question whether he can win the fight, and when this happens Haye will keep pounding a way at him using his speed and movement to get past Harrisons size advantage.
In the end I believe Harrison is going to be taking so much punishment and will be desperate to land that one big shot like he did in the last round of his last fight. The ref is eventually going to have to step in and stop the fight, David Haye wins by TKO. Harrison takes his money and goes back to his life in the USA.
I have summarized what I advantages I believe each fighter to have going into this fight.
Hayes Advantages:
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Speed: Haye has managed to keep most of the speed he had at cruiser-weight
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Power: Harrison has been knocked out before, if anyone can do it Haye can
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Skill: There is no doubt Haye is the better boxer
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Movement: You cant hurt what you cant hit right?
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Confidence: He gets off on the atmosphere of a mega-fight and deals with pressure
Harrison’s Advantages:
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Underdog: It must be a weight off his shoulders that nobody expects him to win
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Urgency: This is his last chance to reach the top of the professional ranks
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Revenge: He believes David has stabbed him in the back when he needed him
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Physical Size: Height, reach and weight might become a big factor in later rounds
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Lucky Shot: As he proved in his last fight, it only takes one punch to change a fight
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Southpaw: David Haye has very little in-ring experience against southpaws
If Audley manages to beat Haye then good luck to him, like I said it only takes one punch and who knows, he might just land it. If he does you can expect a rematch next summer where Haye will feel like he really has something to prove.
Good luck to both fighters, I really cannot wait to see this fight, it has captured the imagination of the British public which can only be a good thing for boxing as a whole.
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