haye100 By Scott Gilfoid: Well, it looks like David Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) is bragging again about his upcoming fight against what figures to be the sacrificial lamb in the slick-backed, pomade-haired Mark De Mori (30-1-2, 26 KOs) this Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Haye is bragging about how he’s going to smash the 33-year-old De Mori to smithereens, as if doing that would be a huge accomplishment. A total destruction of De Mori would mean something if De Mori had actually beaten some quality fighters before to make him a good scalp for Haye, but the fact of the matter he has not.

All the guys on De Mori’s resume are of the obscure variety. De Mori was knocked out in the 1st round by someone named John Wyborn in 2004. De Mori never avenged the loss for some reason.

The only recognizable names on De Mori’s resume are Rob Calloway, Dominique Alexander, Troy Weida, Ivica Perkovic and Alex Leapai. I don’t rate any of those guys as being good fighters. Those are all fodder opponents in my view. De Mori didn’t beat Leapai. He fought him to a disappointing draw 12 years ago.

“When I smash this guy [De Mori] to pieces…After Saturday, people will then realize, ‘He’s back’. The Hayemaker is back, bigger and better, ready to go,” Haye said to skysports.com. “I’m hoping I’m back to my best and then give it a couple of fights. He’s got a couple of fights lined up against some European fighters, so hopefully by the end of the year, that fight will have matured into one of the biggest all-British clashes,” Haye said.

De Mori really doesn’t have anything going for him. He’s just there with his #10 ranking given to him by the WBA for his victories over scrubs. A victory by Haye over De Mori will be meaningless other than the ranking it will likely give him.

It’s just kind of sad that De Mori is ranked in the top 10, given how poor his opposition has been. I think the guy should be ranked bottom 50, or better yet bottom 100. I don’t’ think the guy should be anywhere near the top 15. The WBA really did Haye a favor by giving De Mori such a high ranking based off his wins over fluff opponents.

Haye, 35, is kind of all over the place with his different pipe dreams. Sometimes he talks about wanting to fight Anthony Joshua at the end of the year; while other times he’s blabbing about wanting to fight Tyson Fury.

I honestly don’t see Haye fighting either of those guys in 2016. I mean, Haye might get a fight against Joshua in 2017, but I don’t see that fight happening this year. As far as Haye getting a crack at Fury, I don’t see that happening. Fury has been quite up front about not wanting to fight Haye due to time he wasted in the past while attempting to fight him in 2014.

“Hopefully there might be a world title or an eliminator for a world title, because he’s going at such a trajectory, he could get to a world title before me,” Haye said about Joshua.

I don’t see Haye agreeing to fight in a world title eliminator if it involves him having to fight one of the talented heavyweight contenders. I see Haye as someone that is just going to fight a few scrubs and count on getting picked out by one of the heavyweight champions in a voluntary defense.

The thing is Haye will be waiting a long, long time if he thinks Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury are going to throw him a bone to give him an unearned world title shot. I doubt that’s going to happen. Haye will wind up aging like an old clock while he’s waiting for Wilder or Fury to give him a title shot. Haye can’t afford to wait around. He’s got to try and fight the best fighters available if he’s smart. Do I see Haye doing that? Nope. The only guy I see Haye trying to fight that is a true top 10 contender is Joshua, who is little more than an untested flat-footed, potentially stamina plagued heavyweight.

Excited to see David Haye back in the ring.Good luck mate! All the best to the boys 👊🏽 https://t.co/3vpqivMRaB

— Carl Froch MBE (@Carl_Froch) January 9, 2016

De Mori has a chance in this fight against Haye if he takes the fight to him for the full 12 rounds. Haye has been out of the ring for nearly 4 years, and his cardiovascular system has probably gone to pieces with all that time out if the ring. I suspect Haye will only be good for about four rounds on Saturday night. If De Mori is still standing at the end of the 4th, I see Haye fading quickly and doing little more than running around the ring trying not to get hit. De Mori could score a knockout if he applies pressure on Haye and cuts off the ring on him to force him to fight. De Mori will need to be careful with Haye while clinching, because Haye throws a mean rabbit punch while in close.

“My motivation is exactly the same as at the moment I knocked down Chisora: to be heavyweight champion of the world. Along the way, the money comes. Even if there was no money in boxing, this is what I would do, because this is what I’m meant to do,” Haye said to the telegraph.co.uk. “This fight is about me getting back on the map and proving to the fans that I’m healthy and that I can do this.”

As far as Haye’s goal of winning a heavyweight world title, I can’t see it happening. I do think Haye can win one of the domestic level trinkets like a British or Commonwealth job one of these days after Anthony Joshua gives them up, but I do not think that Haye is capable of winning a world title at 35.

I wonder if Haye would comeback if there was no money in the sport? My guess is he wouldn’t get anywhere near the ring. It’s too much hard work to do for something to be done just for the heck of it.