Boxing: Preview of David Haye v Wladimir Klitschko - July 2, 2011

Tale of the Tape:

David Haye             : 25-1-0-0 (23KO), 1.91m, 210.5 pounds, orthodox style

Wladimir Klitschko : 55-3-0-0 (49KO), 2.01m, 247 pounds, orthodox style


The year's most eagerly awaited bout takes place on July 2 in Hamburg and pits WBO, IBF & IBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko against WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye. It is a fight that has been some three years in the making, with Haye originally calling out the Klitschko brothers (Wladimir's older brother Vitali is the WBC Heavyweight Champion) upon his arrival in the Heavyweight division after he had unified the Cruiserweight division and then pulling out of a 2009 fight with Wladimir after injuring himself in training. The prolonged build up and jockeying for negotiating rights and purses has at times been rancorous, with Haye infamously donning a t shirt depicting himself holding the severed heads of the Klitschko brothers. It seemed after the cancellation of the 2009 fight between Haye and Wladimir that this stunt was proving to be a major stumbling block towards rearranging that fight, but since both parties finally reached an agreement and a July 2 date in Hamburg was agreed, the dynamic between the pair has been interesting and somewhat unexpected. It seems actually that Wladimir seems the cooler of the two contenders, happily and politely fulfilling his press committments, often switching between English, German and Russian, while Haye refuses to shake hands with Klitschko and on the Sky Sports show, Ringside, refusing to be in the same room as the Ukranian. Haye's attempts to rattle Klitschko on Ringside by explaining his refusal to share the set from the confines of the green room on the grounds that Klitschko sounded like Borat and that he had grown tired of hearing his voice were expertly batted back by Klitschko sending himself up in an exaggerated voice before teasing Haye for his refusal to appear and suggesting that Haye was trying not be controlled by him. Ultimately though these pre fight joustings usually count for very little and it is my considered opinion that neither Haye nor Klitschko are doing anything more than trying to gain a little advantage psychologically before the fight and, particularly in Haye's case, attempting to sell the fight in the time honoured fashion by assuming the well worn roles of past fighters with Haye cast as the villain of the piece and Klitschko as the charming gentleman warrior in a rather neat reversal of the customary stereotype of the great Western (usually American) boxer taking on the robotic, uncommunicative Eastern bloc boxer. If it was Haye's intention to squeeze the fight into these stereotypes then he has sorely underestimated his wordly opponent.

The fight will be won and lost in the ring and not between the ears or before the fight, in my opinion. We are not dealing with a Mike Tyson figure, who could be manipulated by his opponent's words into an over excited state or intimidate his opponent into a terrified standstill before the first bell had even rung in equal measure. For all Haye's regrettable public proclamations before his previous fights, he is in actual fact an articulate and considered man and he will be in the right frame of mind as he enters the ring. So to will Wladimir "Dr Steel Hammer" Klitschko. The fight hinges upon the respective styles of the two men in the ring and whether it is the bigger physique of Klitschko with his metronomic and debilitating jab or the speed of feet and hands of Haye which will prevail. Unusually for any fight of this magnitude at any weight division in boxing, we have very little common ground to inspect for signs of the ultimate outcome. The two men have no opponents in common, indeed this will be only Haye's 6th Heavyweight fight and his previous fight was against Audley Harrison, a fight which was such a non event that it might as well be struck from his record with Harrison throw just one measly jab in the entire, pitiful 3 rounds the fight lasted. This leaves Haye's last meaningful Heavyweight contest as his April 2010 meeting with John Ruiz, a durable fighter whose career peaked with a Heavyweight title, but a man who was well on the way down by the time of his meeting with Haye. Although Haye became the first man to stop Ruiz, he retired him in the process and probably the only stand out name on Haye's resume is Nikolai Valuev, the previously unbeaten and tallest Heavyweight champion in history, who Haye skillfully outboxed in a departure from his usual blood and thunder style. Whether Haye has the capacity to outbox Klitschko is another matter and his tactics in the Valuev fight were enforced upon him by an early broken hand in that bout. It is in fact the manner of Haye's victories, more than the victories and names themselves which suggests that the bookmakers have not been totally foolhardy in having Haye around the 2.50-1 mark and not at longer odds for this fight. For Haye's heavy hands and speed of movement as well as the clusters of punches he is capable of throwing stands in stark contrast to most recent opponents of Wladimir Klitschko and marks him out across the whole division. The Heavyweight division is surely the sick man of boxing, and has been since the retirement of Lennox Lewis, leaving the Klitschko brothers to reign unopposed against increasingly sluggish, often out of shape contenders. The Klitschkos themselves have always entered the ring in excellent condition, but Wladimir's most recent opponent, Samuel Peter exactly fitted the description of the current, poorly prepared Heavyweight boxer and in this sense is diametrically opposed to Wladimir's new opponent, David Haye. Furthermore, Wladimir has been knocked out three times in the past, and although the last of these occurred 7 years ago, a chinny boxer will always be so - it is only their all round boxing skills which can be improved. In this sense we can see that in the 7 year gap, Klitschko's defensive skills have vastly improved, but the lists of opponents to knock out Klitschko reads Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty. None of these are future boxing hall of famers by any stretch of the imagination and Haye will feel that if he can land meaningful blows to Klitschko's chin then he will win the fight. However this is easier said than done given Klitschko's strong defensive and attempting to get within range will not only put Haye in the way of Klitschko's relentless jab but also his more offensive weapons which are good enough to have earnt him 46 KOs over the course of career. Wladimir's ability offensively is significant and separates him from Nikolai Valuev, who Haye has pointed to as a similar opponent to Klitschko. For all Valuev's incredible size (he in fact makes Klitschko at 2.01m look like a midget by comparison) he was a non entity as an offensive boxer and his KO percentage was dismal given his natural size. Added to Wladimir's offensive ability is Haye's own weak chin, which has seen him knocked out by a Cruiserweight, Carl Thompson, weighing something close to 5 stones lighter than Wladimir Klitschko will be, and has also seen him floored by other Cruiserweights, and by Monte Barrett in Haye's first significant Heavyweight fight.

Haye has a chance to win this fight if he can strike early, because he has the power in his punches to take advantage of Wladimir's weak punch resistance. However Haye's own punch resistance is even weaker, and if the fight were to go beyond the 4th round I believe Wladimir's jab would wear down Haye and open up opportunities to knock out a tiring Haye sometime in the later rounds. It should not be underestimated how much more work Haye will have to do inside to make up for Klitschko's significant weight and reach advantage. However the potential power of Haye and his real threat after years of embarassing opponents put before Klitschko like lambs to the slaughter makes this fight a thoroughly exciting prospect for a division starved of real interest for so long. Roll on July 2.

Nick Rogerson