David Haye; the saviour of the heavyweight division?

The consensus view has been that the heavyweight division has been in the doldrums for the past five or six years. There have been no exciting fights and no exciting fighters and its almost certainly the weakest era in heavyweight history. Then along came David Haye. Okay, he's not exactly Jack Dempsey or Mike Tyson, but he has charisma, he's quotable, he's a big puncher and his fights generally have plenty of action. Just what the heavyweight division needed, right?
In the best case scenario, he would sweep aside the Klitschko brothers and all the other dull eastern European contenders, unify the alphabet belts and then be headlining in Las Vegas. Damn it, given his modelling background he could be on magazine covers advertising men's aftershave and feature in his own reality series on network TV. Having a gorgeous wife is a bonus and - bingo! - he's a household name! Suddenly, the heavyweight champion of the world has restored the wonder and prestige that comes with that status!
Instead, it's gone the other way. He beat Nicolay Valuev, which was a big plus. That was one dreary, forgettable title-holder out of the way. The fight itself was dull but Haye did what he had to do to win. What next? He beat John Ruiz. Okay, we can live with that. He's not the first title-holder to have to engage in a pointless mandatory defence and he won't be the last. And after that?
All his bragging and ranting about how he wanted the Klitschko brothers and how he'd easily beat them stopped. Previously, Haye had criticised the Klitschkos for facing soft touches, but what does Haye do next? He signs to fight Audley Harrison!
What makes matters worse is that Haye has said that he is going to retire by November next year. Given his not-so-active fight schedule, that means that he will have two fights at the most before he quits. Is this the saviour of the heavyweight division?
Let's assume Haye fights Wladimir Klitschko and beats him. At that stage he could be the saviour the heavyweight division needs. But he won't because he'll retire. Then all the alphabet belts which he would unify in his win over Wladimir would become vacant. So going into 2012, we would have to suffer a series of fights for all the vacant belts. The heavyweight division would just slump even further.
So who is the saviour of the heavyweight division? There's no one around right now who has the star quality that is necessary. Therefore, my guess is that it's someone we haven't heard of yet, either because they haven't turned pro or they've only had three or four fights and are just starting out. The saviour doesn't have to be a murderous puncher in the Tyson mould. Muhammad Ali proved that. But he does have to fight in an exciting fashion and have a great personality.
Last year I was kind of hoping that Haye would beat Wladimir Klitschko but now I think I'd prefer Wladimir to win. If Haye wins, we get a bunch of vacant belts with his subsequent retirement. I don't think Wladimir is anything exceptional as a champion but at least if he beats Haye all the titles stay together (except the one his brother has).
Heavyweight prediction: the division remains in the doldrums for at least another two to three years.

 

Bollocks, eh?

If Haye can fit in only two more fights given that he's supposedly retiring in less than a year, then he may fight both Klitschko brothers. Let's say he fights Wladimir first. If Haye wins, his next and final fight will either be a rematch with Wladimir or a clash with Vitali. I did actually mention that the winner of Wladimir-Haye will have all the belts except the one his brother has.

But the point here is not just about unification. It's about the future of the division. At least if Wladimir wins then the WBA, IBF, and The Ring magazine belts will all stay together. The argument is that Haye cannot be the saviour of the division because even if he beats Wladimir and Vitali he's going to quit. Neither can Wladimir be the saviour because he's as dull as an accountants convention. Therefore, the division will remain without a star.