Haye vs Klitschko – Looking past the Hype

By Boxing News - 04/08/2011 - Comments

By John F. McKenna (McJack): There have been numerous comments and published stories by those who think that WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) has a very good chance to defeat Vladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) in their unification title fight this summer. Klitschko, who has dominated the heavyweight division along with his brother Vitali for several years, holds the IBF, IBO, WBO and Ring Magazine Heavyweight Titles.

Whatever one thinks about David Haye AKA “The Hayemaker”, he has generated some much needed excitement in a division that has been so dominated by the Klitschko’s.

Vladimir Klitschko AKA “Dr. Steelhammer” matured into a dominant champion after he enlisted the expertise of world renowned trainer Emanuel Steward. After showing early promise in his career Vladimir suffered three KO defeats to fighters he should not have lost to. Obviously his chin and even his heart were called into question. In retrospect his KO losses were as much a problem of conditioning as was his chin. It was not until “Dr. Steelhammer” took on Steward that his career fully blossomed. He seems to have put the ghosts of his earlier KO losses behind him.

David Haye has been a constant thorn in the sides of both Klitschko brothers for the past couple of years. His outside the ring antics were attention grabbers in the press, but are also most likely done to get under the Klitschko’s skin. In the world of boxing, controversy usually means one thing and that is ticket sales. A couple of years ago “The Hayemaker” showed up at a press conference with Vlad with a tee shirt which depicted the decapitated heads of the Klitscko’s. Again, this type of behavior is outrageous but it does generate interest. Whether or not Haye believes his own comments to the media, in which he blasts both of the Klitschko’s, is hard to fathom. Now that Vladimir has been named as the Klitschko who will be fighting David Haye this summer, we need to look at both fighters objectively. David Haye moved up from Cruiserweight in 2008 after he had defended his title by scoring a second round TKO over Enzo Maccarinelli. Haye then defeated Monte Barrett at heavyweight by a fifth round TKO at the Q2 Arena on November 15, 2008. Haye was then scheduled to fight Vladimir Klitschko on June 9, 2009 but pulled out of the fight claiming a back injury. Haye also pulled out of a fight with Vitali Klitschko in 2009 after which he signed to fight WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev on November 7, 2009. Haye won the WBA Title by scoring a majority decision over Valuev in a lackluster match. Haye defended his WBA Title twice in 2010, stopping John Ruiz with a ninth round TKO and scoring a third round TKO over Audley Harrison.

Haye has received much criticism from boxing fans for taking on safe and over the hill opponents. It was a surprise to many when the fight between Vladimir Klitschko and David Haye was finally put together. Now that the match has been made and Vladimir Klitschko will be the brother fighting David Haye lets take a serious look at “The Hayemaker’s” chances. There is no doubt that David Haye has great speed and has good punching power. The perception has been for a long time that Vladimir has a glass chin due to his three KO losses. A lot of Vlad ’s earlier problems were more of a problem of conditioning than how strong his chin is, although that is still suspect. Vlad always fights safety first and it appears unlikely that a slugger of David Haye’s size is going to be able to score a one or two punch KO.

Vlad possesses a great left jab. It is fast, long and has a lot of authority. Getting past that left jab is much more difficult than it appears to be. When an opponent attempts to move in on Vlad he will do what he always does, he will grab you like an octopus. At 6’6” and weighing 247 pounds against 6’3” and 215 pounds for Haye, Vlad is going to have a decided advantage both in height and strength. Haye has not exhibited a meaningful jab to date. Without a jab, Haye will have to bull his way in and risk getting caught with a Klitschko left hook or right cross, either of which can end the fight in a hurry.

It appears likely that Vladimir Klitschko will defeat David Haye and continue to dominate the heavyweight division for quite some time.



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