Haye’s lack of size and boxing ability is going to cost him against Wladimir

By Boxing News - 04/11/2011 - Comments

By William Mackay: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) has become spoiled from his many years fighting at cruiserweight and his three years at heavyweight where he’s made a habit of fighting older heavyweights past their best years.

Blessed with good power and excellent hand speed, Haye has gotten by with these assets rather than learning how to box like fighters without those gifts. At cruiserweight, the 6’2” Haye was one of the bigger fighters in the division and could simply use his size and hand speed to pot shot fighters into submission. At heavyweight, it’s a different story.

Haye is still mainly a pot shot fighter, but he’s no longer considered big. He’s been able to continue to succeed by facing weak opposition that’s allowed him to look good and win the WBA paper title. However, now Haye is about to make a huge step up in class by facing IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) in June or July, and I don’t expect Haye to do well at all.

Haye is the equivalent of someone that is good in one area but is about to take on someone who is skilled in many different departments. Haye is like someone that is thrown in a class that he has no preparation for. It’s like tossing someone who can’t even read Spanish into a 2nd year course.

Haye is going to be totally confused by Wladimir’s game and unable to cope with his power, jabs and boxing ability. None of Haye’s sparring partners will prepare him for what he’s about t face against Wladimir. I figure Haye will likely get a local British heavyweight like 6’8” David Price and ask him to ape Wladimir for the sparring sessions. It’s laughable because Price can’t imitate Wladimir.

We saw recently how much help Price gave Odlanier Solis in his fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko after serving as Solis’ sparring partner before the fight. Haye will come out there against Wladimir looking to throw his pot shots as usual and will be eating jabs from the second the fight starts. The jabs will cause Haye to go into shutdown mode, because he’ll keep getting hit every time he attempts to throw one of his pot shot homerun punches. It’s going to be sickening how easily Wladimir ends up beating Haye.



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