By Seattle Doug
So after months of on and off negotiations, featuring a seemingly endless series of demands and counter-demands, we finally have the heavyweight fight we wanted. Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye step into the ring on June 20th to determine the future of the division, in the most eagerly anticipated fight since Lennox Lewis retired six years ago.
The fight may truly be a make or break affair for both men. Haye is seen by many as an upstart who has yet to really prove himself worthy of a title shot. Wlad, while an established heavyweight title holder, is seen by many as a man whose titles rest on unsteady shoulders in that he seems capable of losing on any given night against ordinary competition. This fight should give us some answers regarding both men, in addition to greatly livening up a division stuck in the doldrums for most of the last half decade.
Haye obviously has the most to prove. After a dominating run in the cruiserweight division, taking on most of the top competition and defeating them in impressive fashion, a jump to heavyweight seemed a foregone conclusion. Given his height, reach, physique, and problems making weight towards the end of his run, we knew that the allure of competing in one of boxing’s traditional glamour divisions would be too much to resist. Haye appears to have maintained his elite hand and foot speed in a division featuring many lumbering giants. He also appears to have carried his power. In his most recent bout, he floored five times and ultimately stopped the durable Monte Barrett.
Haye does have some liabilities, however, which Wlad will look to exploit. Haye seems to suffer lapses in concentration. He also has had past problems with stamina, which cost him in his loss to Carl Thompson at Cruiserweight. His chin is also unproven. While it held up well enough against limited punchers Barrett and Thomasz Bonin, how will Haye handle the thundering jabs and crosses Wlad Klitschko is sure to deliver?
Wlad for his part is the shakiest dominant champion in recent memory, if not of all time. He can dismantle foes in textbook fashion, such as his victories over Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, and Hasim Rahman, in which he patiently worked behind a jab, mixing in right hands in the middle and later rounds. Sometimes, however, he seems to have trouble finding second gear, jabbing almost exclusively and delivering extremely limited, boring wins (e.g., Sultan Ibragimov and Tony Thompson). Of course what worries his fans the most are the perplexing fights in which he just cannot seem to get focused, either offensively or defensively. Against Samuel Peter he went down numerous times, escaping with an unsatisfying victory, while against DaVarryl Williams he escaped with a technical decision after getting dropped in the early rounds. Those problems came to head in his bouts with Ross Purrity, Corrie Sanders and the first fight with Lamon Brewster, in which defensive lapses coupled with stamina issues led to TKO losses.
As for the fight itself, it’s a tough one to call, making it all the more intriguing. Both men bring significant, impressive attributes to the ring. Both men seem to have styles that would allow them to be very effective against each other. Does Haye taste that vaunted Wlad one-two early, followed by a lingering taste of canvas or does Wlad deliver another of his safety-first boxing clinics, keeping Haye at the end of that pile-driver jab and cross, taking it to a decision victory or late knockout? Does Haye bum-rush Wlad, bringing the pressure and power that troubled Wlad so much against Sanders, leading to another TKO loss or will Wlad wilt in the middle to late rounds, yet again succumbing to a TKO loss as the pressure and fatigue get the better of him?
I believe we’ll see the best of Wlad the technician, working from distance behind his straight punches, wearing down the Brit and taking him out late. I believe Haye will give a good account of himself, perhaps even flooring Wlad at some point and making it a rousing affair. At any rate, this is the fight we’ve waited to see. The dominant heavyweight of the last five years against the young, hungry contender with plenty of credentials himself. This is the fight that can bring the division back to a semblance of its former glory. Personally, I can’t wait until the 20th of June. Based on early ticket sales and the internet chatter this fight has evoked, neither can anyone else.
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