Haye vs best Cruisers ...

A gatekeeper coming off a KO of Tye Fields. A reasonable 'name' opponent for Haye's 'proper' heavyweight debut.

 

I conclude, pepper, you deem Haye shouldn't have fought old fat Toney because Toney wasn't ranked high enough by boxrec and because you think it would have been a boring fight without a KO (IMO the style match-up alone would have made for an interesting fight). The facts that Toney would have been a good test for Haye, that questions about Hayes chin and stamina would have been answered, that Haye would have proven he's a threat a HW and maybe even grown somewhat as a fighter (provided he won), are irrelevant to you. You want an exciting fight.

You also deem that it was okay for Haye to fight shot Barrett, because it promised to be an exciting fight, meaning a quick KO victory for Haye. Haye showed us he's fast and can bang, something we already knew.

It doesn't make sense to me. I always tought fans should want their favourite fighter to seek challenges, not to play it safe...

 

And James Toney isn't a 'name' opponent? Double standards...

But you nailed it, Lightning Joe. Right to the point. Barrett was indeed the 'reasonable' opponent for Hayes HW debut. Not too risky, he'd be there for a couple of rounds and then get knocked out. Exactly how it happened. Safe matchmaking.
Toney was more of a risky opponent, too dangerous. And I'm not even saying Toney would have beat Haye, no, not at all. But at any rate Haye couldn't have disposed of him in spectacular fashion, he'd have had his piece of work cut out, and you never know what kind of tricks old Toney may have pulled out of his bag to bother Haye with.

What win would have been better for Haye? The win over Barrett, where everybody knew the outcome and where he proved nothing, or a win over old fox Toney, answering questions about his stamina and maturity and where he might even have grown as a fighter?

 

It may be off-topic, because the thread is about Haye vs. the best cruisers, but since it went into this direction I want to state a fact:

When Haye moved up to the HW division he called out the whole division and claimed he was going to take over. Well, some HWs, among them Toney, Rahman and Eddie Chambers, all credible opponents, ANSWERED HIS CALL and were willing to travel to London. Keep in mind Haye was still looking for an opponent then. But then Haye picked Monte Barrett, who was little more than a journeyman at that point, as his opponent.

And the worst thing is, his fans, who should've been the most upset about this, keep defending him for it.

 

They all get destroyed in 9 rounds. No body can survive Hayes brutal power except that one guy who went the distance back when Haye was being merciful.

 

Haye never got destroyed he just ran out of steam because he was naive. He fought a very tough fighter in Carl Thompson in only his 11th fight and lost due to inexperience.

 

Qawi would KO this guy...he have never faced a fighter that can outwork him

 

You're delusional. This has to be a joke, right? Haye was merciful with an opponent?? Why wasn't he merciful with his other opponents?

Toney has had 80 pro fights, some of them against bigger and better punchers than Haye. Never been stopped or been close to being stopped. But Haye would destroy him inside 9, right? We're talking about the Toney that beat Jirov here.

Ok, now you know I'm a Toney fan, so let's take another CW. You just stated Haye would destroy Holyfield inside 9 rounds. We're talking about a young Holyfield here, who went the distance with Quawi. 15 rds, not 12. Could you just imagine Haye doing this? You gotta be kidding.

 

hehe... hell yes little Qawi would send Haye to hell and back...

 

But I was not responding to original post, but THIS post by you:

You were talking about Haye's recent heavyweight fight in this post, and not the cruiserweight version of Toney. You said that Haye "ducked" Toney recently at heavyweight. Am I wrong?

 

Obviously not Holyfield, but most of the list.

 

What a trainwreck of a thread. Haye beating a bum like Toney at heavyweight would've proved nothing.