Have you guys ACTUALLY seen Haye-Valuev? I rewatched it recently and it really was a beautiful display of boxing. Haye showed dazzling footwork and wobbled the giant with a huge shot! This fight wasn't that boring. What do you think, ESB?
Haye said he would KO Valuev. Just talk. Valuev was never a good boxer to begin with and hadnt much power. Haye was on the outside,circling,running,moving his head around Valuev few slow shots etc Not a fun fight at all. Only had 1 good shot by Haye. Haye barely won and arguably did not. He was just better looking than Valuev so they let him have the title.
He did what he had to do. To be honest unless Valuev batters someone (Liakhovich :-() or gets battered himself, his fights are bound to be pretty ugly. Haye fought well enough to make it obvious that Valuev was landing nothing, which was pretty important if you were going to fight him in Germany after his shocking 'win' over Holyfield I was quite surprised Haye won that fight, but I was assessing it on the precondition that Valuev would have to lose big for Haye to take a decision. I never bothered watching again from an objective perspective.
That was an awesome moment. Even though I wanted to see Wlad or Vitali beat the **** out of him, until Haye signed to fight Harrison I was a fan. He redeemed himself a bit with his performance against Wlad (I didn't expect him to do so well) and again against Chisora, and if it's true he's going to fight someone like Fury or Povetkin I'll likely cheer him on again
It was a masterclass in British boxing. Probably one of the top 5 British victories in the sport from all time.
Yes and the feeling you had for 12 constant rounds that all it took was one big shot from Valuev since Haye's chin is suspect. Just to let up for a moment but he didn't and nearly dropped him. When it was announced all of his fans around the world stood up and cheered. Great moment.
I always think of it as an interesting fight rather than an outright good one (or even average). Haye is very conscious of leaning and holding against bigger guys as it saps his stamina - imaging holding Valuev up for even just a few seconds. Clear win for me, wish his output had been higher but you have to accept that's how Haye will fight a guy so much bigger than him.
Chagaev is a much smaller man than Haye and managed to beat Valuev more convincingly Chagaev-Valuev>>> Haye-Valuev
But one thing has to be said. This fight was WAY better live then it was when you watched it a week after. Due to the constant tension.
If this fight was before Holyfield Valuev i would maybe rate this as very good win, but god damn 100 years old Holyfield beat Valuev before Haye... Fight was well lets say ok nothing more.
They let him have the title because they wanted Haye to fight Wlad next which meant big money for everybody involved.