The Heavyweight Savior?

By: Scott Jarvis
Submitted: 2008-07-15 12:56:15
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Those who follow boxing, particularly the Heavyweight division all have something to say about ex-Cruiserweight champion David Haye.  To some surprise however much of it seems to be negative.  Immediately after his defeat of Enzo Maccarinelli and unifying the Cruiserweight division, Haye attacked the Heavyweight division saying “At the moment you have one fat guy fighting an even fatter guy for the world title — it's a disgrace”. Additionally Haye has, on more than one occasion confronted Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko in a bid to convince the champion that a fight between the two should occur.  While Haye’s words are for the most part painfully truthful, boxing fans as well as the majority of boxing insiders don’t give David Haye much respect, let alone a chance at being successful in the Heavyweight division.

Certainly there are things about every fighter that fight fans and experts can point out as flaws however in Haye’s case there is little to criticize.  Those who dismiss Haye as nothing more than a mouth or trash talker make such erroneous statements only because the energetic fighter has yet to challenge any top ranked Heavyweight contenders.  While he may be untested against the top Heavyweights, David Haye is hardly untested or unproven.  In Haye’s twenty two bouts as a professional he has delivered twenty knockouts.  It’s also important to keep in mind that many of these knockouts were delivered to prominent figures in the Cruiserweight division as well.  Excellent fighters such as Jean-Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli both fell to the canvas after tasting several of the Haymakers power punches.

So where then do Haye’s detractors feel the fighter is lacking?  The majority of naysayer’s all site Haye’s apparent lack of ability to absorb punches.  Regardless of what David Haye has won these individuals always refer back to Haye’s one single loss against forty year old Carl Thompson several years back.  In this fight Haye was knocked down and then out by the aging Thompson but only after expending too much energy to soon and punching himself out.  Haye quickly rebounded in his next fight against Alexander Gurov by destroying his opponent in just 45 seconds.  Fans and insiders however always fall back on Haye’s one loss, a loss which he seems to have learned from.  There was once a time in boxing where a fighter like Haye, who does taste the canvas from time to time, would be applauded for getting up and sending his opponent to the canvas.  These days at least in Haye’s case boxing experts and fans criticize him for this.

While Haye’s chin remains in question with some individuals, others state that they are turned off by his seemingly loud mouth and aggressive personality.  Many state that he should reserve his comments until such a time as he reigns as king of the Heavyweights. Surprisingly enough however, many of Haye’s critics are also the same people who bemoan the lack of excitement and energy in the Heavyweight division so there are also those who question their criticism of the Haymaker. Moreover Haye has never said anything about the Heavyweight division that is untrue.  The division is indeed overrun with aging mediocre journeymen as well as a whole group of unbeaten yet unproven mediocre and out of shape fighters.  Watching heavyweights fight these days is akin to watching two sprinters race for second to last place.

There are then those fans and insiders who criticize Haye for calling out current champion Wladimir Klitschko, especially since Haye has yet to prove himself against a high ranked contender.  While Klitschko is no slouch as a fighter those that dismiss Haye’s chances against the champion would do well to remember that Klitschko too has been knocked out not once, but three times against fighters who many consider to be second rate.  Additionally Wladimir’s chin remains in question with most boxing fans and experts.  The Klitschko vs. Haye bout is bound to happen at some point provided both men continue to win which shouldn’t be a problem for either man given the state of the heavyweight division.

Lastly there is the camp that believes that the move from Cruiserweight to Heavyweight will prove to be too much for Haye in terms of size and punching power.  Haye has stated more than once that he is a natural Heavyweight and worked hard in the past to make weight during his tenure at Cruiserweight.  If this is indeed the case then the move toHeavyweight will a natural one for Haye and should help to accent both his speed and power.  To prove this we need only too look at Haye’s knockout victory over Tomasz Bonin.  While Bonin has never been considered a great fighter, Haye showed that both his speed and power carry over when he fights at Heavyweight.  It is likely that this too will be the case when he steps into the ring this fall as a Heavyweight.  Those that argue that Haye will be to small a Heavyweight need only too look around the division to see why Haye’s chances of success at Heavyweight are better than good.  The majority of even top ranked Heavyweight fighters, are slow, aging, and fat, in some instances the fighters at heavyweight possess all three of these qualities.  It has also been said that most of the Heavyweights today are simply fat Cruiserweights which is not far from the truth.

Though a jump up in weight class has proven to be the death knell for many fighters, it has also proven to be a positive landmark in the careers of others.  David Haye aims to emulate the success of Evander Holyfield and be only the second Cruiserweight Champion to win the Heavyweight championship.  Even if there were stiffer competition awaiting Haye at Heavyweight he would do well.  Providing Haye stays focused on his goal and takes one fight at a time it’s a good bet that the Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion will become Heavyweight Champion as well.  Even if Haye where to lose at some point the division would still have someone in it who wants to fight, is in shape to fight and has charm and charisma to boot.  These things alone would breathe some life into a sour, old, and stagnant division.  Fans aching for some excitement at the Heavyweight level should rally around Haye for no other reason than the energy he brings to the table.  Haye definitely has the tools and the skills to get the job done and it will be an exciting ride regardless of the outcome.

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