Anthony Bellew v David Deron Haye - 17th December

Agreed. Whoever wins this is the real champ, regardless of which strap they don't hold.

 

Think at this point haye needs to prove his body can hold up and hes still a reasonable fighter to even think about being on ppv with any credibility.
Always been a fan of haye...but its getting harder to believe hes in it for anything else but a cash grab at this stage. Frustrating cause he needs to get back in their with some warm up fights being active bedding in with the new trainer before having one last serious crack at it.

Hes been totally inactive for years. You cant just jump back in the ring with a guy like bellew. Even tho hes a weight below...not the best cruiserweight out there etc. I think haye wins it...but its a big risk to take to jump back in at that level with his injury history/coach problems/inactivity. The whole injury rehabilitation seems a bit rushed for the money more than anything else. If the injury goes careers over. If he loses careers over. If he doesnt gel with the new coach...like with mcguigan...career could be over. Hes needing to forget about chasing the money atm. And make sensible career choices. Otherwise its just a guy thats looking for cash outs. I m not really a believer anymore. But think with the courage to fight on with the injury gives him the benefit of the doubt with continueing on with his career at this stage. But another let down and he soon becomes the next audley harrison. Thats the problem with leaving coaches that have been with you for years. The new coaches dont always have your best interests at heart. Their basically just guns for hire anyway. With haye being haye will he know when its time to call it a day. I think he convinces himself hes still got it regardless of what goes on in the ring.

 

Haye is now a cash out fighter,look at what he does with all his holidays and trips,he needs the money and he knows how to hype up one.He originally wanted to quit boxing when he was 30.He is now 36,also look at little signs,he begs to be the first name on the poster,His shorts used to have the union jack now represents himself and his promotional company.The Haye v Chisora in 2012 was the last time we saw and will see of the original Haye,fast,cute,powerful.

 

Hearn hinted on IFL doing a Sunday show before Christmas

 

When it comes down to it I don't even see Haye and Bellew as real fighters at this point anyway, the way Tony goes round making out he is the draw then avoids the dangerous challenges is laughable. Until Haye does something of substance I never have seen him as having a chance at heavyweight either, beating the crap out of Bellew doesnt change that either way. The fact that its even a question that can Haye beat Bellew? just shows he needs to pack it in.

so the fight is just a bit of fun in my eyes, it has no substance in real boxing terms. I agree with the sentiment of other posters, it could be a dangerous trend that these types of fights get made over the real match ups of substance due to the money and hype. The Mayweather v Mcgregor fight was an embarrassment to all those involved in my eyes, that was an extreme case which may have been seen utterly ridiculous at one point, actually I still cant believe it happened.

This fight is not the same farce but I can see some peoples concerns in the direction it is going.

 

The return of flipper foot. Wonder what else will break in the fight this time.

Then we will have to listen to bellew.

When will bellew fight usk and get finished off

 

2 undefeated heavyweights are going to go at it this Saturday on YouTube in front of a crowd of less than 10,000 people. Bellew & Haye are going to fill out an arena and sell a ridiculous number of PPV's on Sky. One is for the purists, the other is for the people with a passing interest in boxing. I know it's not palatable but the Haye vs Bellew fight sells hugely and gets people interested in our sport. Nobody (apart from us) cares about the fact no belt is on the line, this isn't about boxing skills, it's about personalities. Haye & Bellew get people talking about the sport and planning their night out/in around the bout. It's fantastic for boxing. It's about catching the publics imagination and like them or hate them or don't even rate them...these lads do that.

As for cashing out, I don't blame either of them for that. They have an opportunity to walk away from the sport very rich and in decent health. Good luck to them.

 

Meaningless fight, both only out for money.

 

Briedis already holds the WBC doesn't he? It was vacant in April when he and Huck fought for it

 

Agreed.

You would think he would have a little financial sense after the situations he's gotten himself into over the years.

 

Haye is beat up, too many miles on the clock

Far too injury prone

 

I hear what you are saying, but there isn't really that much for the masses to get excited about with Parker and Fury. Neither have achieved anything, neither have particularly jaw dropping highlight reels for people to drool at, and neither are good at selling themselves. It is all very that Joseph Parker is a polite, respectful guy, but that doesn't sell fights, hitting people with bottles sells fight, telling your opponent you are going to eat their children sells fights, saying "yeah, he's a good fighter and I quite like him and hope we can be BFF's forever" doesn't quite cut it in this business.

 

Yeah, unfortunately for Bellew, beating up a fit David Haye doesn't count for much in 2017 either.
It's a "no bragging rights" fight for both men, really. (although obviously they are both deluded enough to brag about a win here)
In the heavyweight division today, these guys are complete nobodies.

 

Are we here to care ? I just discuss a little boxing on this forum, throw out a few opinions. These topics are nothing I care about much. Maybe I haven't been taking it all seriously enough but .. it's just boxing. I don't mean to offend, but it's not important.

The popular appeal of such fights as these ("joke fights") and the way the SKY PPV platform has evolved towards a good proportion of these circus events (rather than well-marketed meaningful fights) is an interesting phenomenon.
Others have probably made that point better than I have.