He was having the right strategy against Wladimir Klitschko imo. He kept away from Wlad and jumped in with attacks. However, everytime Haye leaped in, Wlad wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly. Isn't holding excessively illegal? Wlad should have been warned and punished for holding imo.
Haye had the right strategy but he didn't attack enough to win the fight. The odd time he caught Wlad he didn't follow up. He wasted 12 rounds trying for a one punch KO
He didn't follow up because Wlad was holding like a bitch. Everytime Haye came close, Wlad wrapped his arms around him.
Haye didn't try to attack nearly enough. That's because he doesn't really have much an offensive game. He, like Wlad, lives from using distance, waiting for his opponent to come in and then countering with the deadly right hand. As both kept their distance, the guy with the better outside game won, and Wlad with his reach and jab was far too good. To win, Haye would have needed to step out of his comfort zone and he never did that. Clinching was not an issue in this bout
The right strategy??? That's funny. Completely changing the way you fight in the biggest fight of your career and coming off like a chicken shit is probably the wrong strategy on every possible level.
Off the top of your head, how many clinches were there in the fight??? Haye had the "right strategy" if by that you mean ambush fighting, minimizing risk and doing just enough to look competitive and collect his paycheque and be able to claim he was trying all along. By the end of the third round, Haye suspected he could not win the fight at all. Wlad had matched him for hand-speed, proven to have superior footwork and a better chin than Haye supposed. Haye showed up there, much like Emile Griffith in the first Benvenuti fight, with far too much emphasis on the event rather than the actual fight itself. As the fight drew near, Haye, now having totally failed to make any impact on Wlad mentally, resorted to cheap youtube gimmicks and claims of how Lennox Lewis would have stopped Wlad etc etc. It's like Ali, before he fought Foreman, going around telling everyone that he knew a guy who would have whipped George. Fuck that. Take care of your own thing. Ali did, Haye didn't. In England, in the boxing community as in others, there are some major hangups about how Ze Shermans have got out in front of them on so many things. Boxing is just one of those things. Haye got all caught up in that, and was far too concerned with nonsense like ring walks and who came out first etc etc.
Wlad came forward all night and tried to make the fight. Haye resorted to ambush tactics and flopping. Wlad tried to hold, was not permitted, and so maintained a clean punch output instead. Haye will always have my scorn for not only being a cunt per se, but for not allowing Wlad to at least come out of it with some credit. Haye did all the talking then did all the running.
Que? You are describing Vitali, who is quite simply awful when he comes forward, and he has gotten worse as he gets older. Haye was always a leaper, if you study his fight with Ruiz, he would let Ruiz plod forward, try to step in with something big, then go on walkabout, get his breath back, and try again. It works against shopworn dudes like Barrett or Ruiz but it doesn't work against guys who close the distance properly with good footwork and maintain a steady stream of fast accurate handwork. You are right about the clinching. There was none in the usual sense of the word. Haye was all about catching Wlad with one single big right hand.
Haye almost never attacks before he has been able to catch his opponent coming in, after which he tries to take advantage. He has never been a pressure fighter
I agree that Wlad's holding is out of control. It's why I respect his brother much more. Also, I think it's the single biggest factor allowing Wlad to avoid another KO loss. And in my opinion, it's outright cheating.
