Y'all wont wanna hear this but...

Haye proved to me that he wasn't scared of Wlad and meant everything he said in the build up. He also proved that he's a legitimate heavyweight and a great deal of self belief.

Wlad merely has his number due to his height, reach and style (Vitali would present the same if not more problems)....nevertheless Haye is the third best Heavyweight in the world at this point and he talks the talk but also walks the walk.

 

You might not want to hear this, but that sound rolling in over the Eastern Canadian Seaboard is in fact the sound of all of Great Britain laughing at Haye, as we speak. In Ireland it is deafening, and the Azores is also feeling it. If you listen closely, you can hear a few demands for refunds mixed in with the laughter.

 

Sly knows boxing and ain't been beat two times

 

Haye probably is the #3 heavyweight , but if he had fought Vitali, the beating he would have taken would have caused a disproportionate slump in his rating level. It's not size that beats this guy alone, its styles. He was the #3 heavyweight according to Boxing Monthly, and I don't expect his ratings to slide any between now and their next issue in one month.

 

Sly and Hut should start a David Haye Bandwagon.

"David Haye is the Teeeeeruth!"

I don't care what you think..........he thought he was doing, but that was a truly embarrassing performance.

If you think he backed up his words with his performance, I don't really know what to say.

Only thing I will admit is, Haye wasn't the only one stinkin' it out in there.

 

Seriously, Haye is yet another garbageman in today's wondrous world of boxing

 

Exactly what people are pissing and greetin' about here stumps me. When two guys train with 100% diligence, try to win as best they can, execute a strategy to follow and fight at a very high level of skill and athleticism I see no room for this kind of negativity.

 

You're not giving Wlad enough credit for using his height, size and reach to totally shut down any hope Haye had of being a threat.

 

Splendid.

 

I'm not going to sit here and pretend that this was some high-level event between two great fighters

It wasn't

It was a boring, tedious match won handily by a pretty good giant heavyweight and a not-so-good small heavyweight

 

I'm not saying that either.

But both guys did try. The styles clash made it a non-exciting fight not the mentalities of the fighters. It was a chess match and both men showed they have great defensive and strategic skills.

 

and not enough cojones

 

Lennox Lewis often fought the same way and people criticized him for it at the time too...but it still showed that he was a smart fighter. Didn't mean he was a bum.

This fight was far more intriguing than Lewis-Holyfield 1 for example.

 

If Haye had gone in recklessly, tried to lead and force the fight (which isn't his game) he would have gotten KO'd. Which would have achieved precisely nothing. His only chance was to try and draw Wlad on to something big or hope he got careless.

There's a huge difference between strategic caution, waiting for an ambush and inaction (though it seems too subtle a distinction for just about everyone watching, except Roy :scared:).

Haye should have thrown his hand in the last 2 rounds, that criticism is fair, but by then he was exhausted from being man handled, leaned on and pressured.

 

You are on top form today.

I especially like:

"There's a huge difference between strategic caution,.....and inaction"

 

This is the source of the disappointment I suspect. I have no problem with Haye's Plan-A: hell, it was obvious to anyone who had ever seen Haye fight that he would fight that way. But when Plan-A failed, Haye could have gone for broke and let everything out on the line. A late stoppage loss was as 'good' as a wide points loss. But he refused, and that is what grates.

MTF

 

They came into the fight "in shape".

Have your expectations in the Heavyweight division become so low, that's what you hang your hat on in convincing yourself this was some sort of high level chess match?

Maybe you need to pop in some tapes of Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer to satiate your thirst for counter-feints, and long stretches of thoughtful inaction.

:nono:

 

That style of low output, feinting, high impact RJJ style fighter are an aspect of the game now and the fact they don't lead to exciting fights isn't a reason for them to change or for us to pretend they suck.

I'd be curious what internet forums woulda said about Jones-Hopkins. Two boring cowardly fighters who didn't know or care enough to throw at a decent output. Pissy pissy greety greety.

(here comes the lazy counter 'you're comparing Jones to Haye haha' counter argument from somebody, i can already hear the keys rustling.....::)

 

The fact that ANYONE is trying to make Haye's performance anything more than the pathetic display that is was, simply underscores the absolutely dismal state of professional boxing.

If fighting scared is a strategy then David Haye is a master strategist.

 

The SAVING GRACE for Jones-Hopkins I was that it was the HBO LEAD-IN to Riddick Bowe's KO of Jesse Ferguson...




REED:mj:

 

Bowe was LUCKY Mercer didn't prepare properly for Ferguson and lost that fight, else he would have had to fight Mercer instead...and Mercer would not have been an easy fight for Bowe.

But we digress.....

 

yawn

 

REED SLIGHTLY Disagree's...

The TOEtality of What Haye Put Forth was PATHETIC...The Pre-Fight, ALPHA MALE Shittalk...The VOCIFEROUS Toe Related Post-Fight Excuses...Seriously, Dude Actually STOOD ON a Table & Allowed his TOES to B Photographed???!!!...In the "Big Fight" AFTERMATH, Haye was More FOOT Model than FIGHTER...

On Top of All This, Haye Actually had a WINDOW of OPPORTUNITY to Step HIS Game Up, During the Fight...But he DIDN'T...For the 1st Half of the Fight, Haye's Strategy was SOUND...But he Failed to BUILD On that Strategy...



REED:mj:

 

I'd argue it was lazy to make that comparison in the first place. :nono:

 

"Toetality" :: ::

Reed and my fellow R, HoS have really been NAILing these puns ::

 

Let's SOCK it to him one more time!!!

 

:: :laughing: :: :laugh11:

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If the shoe fits he must wear it.

 

I also agree with Sly. This fight has proven us a few things:
- Haye is clearly the third best Heavyweight in the world
- Wladimir Klitschko has improved as a fighter. It is much harder to beat him now thanks to Emannuel Steward

 

Haye is head and toes above the rest of the division, except the Klitschkos