David Haye talked a great game and got fans interested in a heavyweight title fight for the first time in years. He even talked his way into a 50/50 purse split and convinced a good number of people that he was actually going to defeat Wladimir Klitschko. Too bad he couldn't back up all his tough talk in the ring ... at all. Haye didn't seem intimidated by the bigger Klitschko ... he just looked like an amateur.
The former cruiserweight champion lunged in a few times each round with individual power punches with the hope of scoring a one-punch KO. That was his entire game plan. Well, that and falling to the canvas and complaining to referee Geno Rodriguez every time Klitschko leaned on him the least little bit. That part of Haye's strategy actually worked in round seven when Rodriguez rewarded his whining with a one point deduction from Klitschko. Finally having found something that worked, Haye stuck with the falling down routine, only to have it backfire on him in round eleven when Rodriguez compensated for his previous bad call by starting to count when Haye flopped to the canvas.
It takes two fighters to make a dull fight and Klitschko also did his part to keep this bout from being the least bit memorable. Fight fans hoped that Haye had genuinely irritated Klitschko and that we'd see him fight angry for the first time and take some chances in order to produce a spectacular KO. No such luck. Sure, Klitschko was efficient and effective in winning virtually every round ... but he did so in his typically risk-averse and machine-like manner.
In the end, all three judges scored the fight for Klitschko by a wide margin: 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110. Punch stats were similarly one-sided with Klitschko landing 134-of-509 punches (26%) to only 72-of-290 (25%) for Haye.
Haye, to no one's surprise, was fully prepared with an excuse in the post-fight interview. Wearing only one boxing shoe, Haye pointed to his bare right foot and attributed his inability to land any big punches to a broken toe he claimed to have suffered in training three weeks ago. Whatever.
The search for a truly worthy heavyweight challenger continues ... with no end in sight.
Comments
I am British and for the first time in the sixty years I have followed boxing I was not rooting for my countryman mainly because of his pre-fight demeanour. Unfortunately the only haymaking in this lack lustre affair was perfomed by Klitscho (baling) Haye out of a devastating loss by his own cautious approach. Neither man delivered on their promise to Mr Kellerman to punish the other severely. I read somewhere that this was Dempsey Willard over again. Haye is no Dempsey and unfotunately for Haye, Klitscho is no Willard. Oh for a Holmes a Frazier an Ali a Tyson a Lewis a prime Holyfield a Cooper or any one with some sort of conviction.
WHAT A DULL FIGHT!! WAKE ME UP WHEN THE FIGHT STARTS, THAT’S ALL I KEPT THINKING.
HAYE MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIGHTER BUT HE IS REALLY SMART. IMAGINE CUNNING ANYONE INTO THINKING THAT HE SHOULD GET 50% OF THE PURSE!!!!!! SHAME ON HIM.
I WOULD HAVE LOVE FOR KLITSCHKO TO STEP ON HAYE’S BIG RIGHT TOE AND KNOCK HIS SOCKS OFF.
Sadly the heavyweight division is so dire right now that we will without any doubt whatsoever be looking forward to the re-match of this debacle. Probably six months of nonsense hype telling us this will be the best heavyweight bout ever. I just pray there will not be a third. Which I forecast. Which the many readers of this site will no doubt also predict. Sad state of affairs. Sad.
i’ would like to see a rematch or Haye fight vitali.
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maybe there was something about his broken toe, at least he didnt get flattened in the first round or badly beaten.
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Would i pay to see it on sky.. hmm
need convincing a better undercard would help.
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But dont need that prefight crap from Haye they need a change of style to warm more fans over.
David moved around the ring REAL well for having a broken toe. I always thought that a broken toe would affect the feet not the hands . Maybe I’m wrong.