Haye gets a bit more stick than he deserves. He has legitimate injuries in his final years and that stopped him pushing on. When he was fit and healthy, he was a real force. Massive puncher. No one else has ever taken Chisora like that, and he fought everyone.
I always thought Haymaker underarchieved considering his talent. He was a fantastic fighter at his best. Flashes of pure brilliance at times. Like it or not but he also brought some serious buzz and excitement at hw division.
I don't think anyone has ever denied Hayes talent. It was his antics that generated a lot of criticism his way.
Valuev did well to eat that, regain his composiure and continue marching forward. That was a really hard shot.
That's why SNV could be outboxed, but couldn't be KOed. Even if hurt he recovers immediately and continues.
Hayes injuries meant he never fulfilled his talent. In his prime at his peak he would have beaten all the current champs. Gotta remember this guy was cruiser when putting it into perspective. He would have beaten usyk as well.
he was a bad, bad man. shame he flushed his money down in the toilet and became a broken shell of himself. tony bellew would have kept his head down if prime haye walked past him.
That was a joke of a contest, for the WBA title. Nikolay Valuev had already lost it to an ancient Evander Holyfield, but got a gift decision. David Haye never beat anybody decent at heavyweight except Dereck Chisora, who has been beaten more times than Deontay Wilder fans can count up to.
He was definitely a talent but wouldn't have beaten all the current heavies. Haye's weaknesses were obvious from the Carl Thompson fight. In fact, from the Solis fight in the 2001 amateurs. Take him past his comfort zone and there's a good chance he bails out. Yes he could poleaxe you with a shot and had a very TV friendly style, but as much as I hate to admit it, Bellew was totally correct in his initial assessment of Haye.
Would have liked to have seem haye v cunningham. Haye was very very good but he was well matched. Maybe didn't fullfil his potential
