What makes this fight/haye special is because their is genuine needle between the two like ali frazier. Plus he is a cv to boot undisputed cruiserweight champ , currebt belt holder at heavyweight. These are great ingredients for a fight. None of wlad's other guys he fought had any of this.
The only one scared here is Haye. He will have to face top 10 heavyweight next in Chagaev or Klitschko. He knows he is going to lose and want to maximize his payday. That's the only reason he is so "agreeable" all of the sudden.
I wouldn't say Peter, Chambers or Ibragimov would be better wins, but Haye wouldn't be a significantly better win to the extent that it would vastly improve Wlad's legacy and ATG heavyweight standing. Byrd might very well be a better win to be honest, but again, whether it is or isn't, it doesn't matter. Wlad's legacy is in the fact that the dominated the division for a number of years, beating all the top contenders along the way. But he will be ranked in a similar vein to Tyson [not saying he's as good as Tyson before anybody goes off on one], in that he won't have a top-win over a fellow great, but he'll have proven himself the best for a number of years by completely dominating, unifying and clearing out the division of all it's best contenders. Like I said, without a Haye win, he'll still go down as top 20 of all-time in the heavyweight division. With a win over Haye, that ranking isn't going to significantly jump up because Haye would still be a B+ level win at best. Haye will go down as a decent belt-holder at heavyweight and not even in the top 30-40. With a Wlad win, he will have a top win over an ATG heavyweight in/near his prime and the chance to stake a claim for a much higher position. Wlad's legacy will go down on his longevity or HW and dominance over a period of time, Haye's - because he'll retire with only 7-8 heavyweight fights under his belt - will have to be on the quality of his wins, hence he needs a win over Wlad far more.
Nobody in their right mind is disputing that the matchup is intruiging nor that Haye is a capable challenger. The question is if Wlad gains much for his legacy in case he knocks out Haye and Haye then retires on the spot. I didn't say that Ibragimov was a better boxer. I said the analogy with Haye is striking in that Ibgragimov retired on the spot just like Haye is contemplating. If Wlad knocks out Haye in an otherwise uneventful fight and Haye retires right thereafter I doubt we will call this fight Wlad's defining fight in a few years time. It would be just one out of many if you forget the amount of paper belts involved for a second.
If Carl Thompson, Mormeck and shot Barrett were able to knock Haye down I think Haye has all reasons to be scared of Chagaev even in his current form.
Wait ... Klitschko has one more fight with RTL before his contract with them runs out? And he just pulled out of that last fight with a phantom injury? Interesting. :think
Exactly. The only way Haye makes that kind of money from any TV contract is if he fights one of the Klitschkos. Especially after that farce against Audley.
haye is all talk. but this fite needs to happen, wvlad not a ducker tho but he dont give the fight the fans want to see.
Thompson was 6 years ago, that has nothing to do with his current form. Would you like me to bring up Wlad's losses to Purrity & Sanders? Exactly. They are both completely irrelevant. So is Mormeck being at a different weight, and Barrett - I don't think that was a legit knockdown - but what about the rest of the fight? And his fights with Ruiz & Valuev? Why not judge him off his most recent fights, not fights 6 years ago and cruiserweight doubts. Chagaev has looked poor since the Wlad fight also. I think Haye would comfortably beat Chagaev now. He's a bit too rigid and mechanical for somebody as fluid and relaxed as Haye with his punching form. I think he'd struggle to match his hand & foot speed and the offensive variety, and be kept at bay with Haye's power as he thumps through the guard and gradually wears him down. I know their may be the southpaw element, but I think he'll struggle less with southpaw's than most, especially somebody like Chagaev. His right-hand is obviously his main weapon and the main punch against a southpaw. Given he keeps his left-hand low, his left-hook is also less regimented and he can hook around Chageav's jab with his extra speed and reach advantage. The main problem he'll face will be like most with the jab, but if he keeps his range and finds his timing to hook round it, he should affectively silence his jab and prevent him from throwing it often.
Obviously he's going to lose 30% against either Chagaev or Wlad, but seeing as he'd make more against Haye, obviously that 30% is going to translate to a lot more money. Hence it makes sense from a business point of view, unfortunately, for him to see out his 3-fight deal with Sauerland against Chagaev, so he can then keep his entire purse against Wlad.
Chris Byrd accomplished more than Haye at Heavyweight. He was considered the #1 ranked Heavy when Wlad KO'd him easily in their second fight. Haye has never been the #1 Heavyweight, Wlad is considered the #1 Heavyweight..................get it?