Learning curve. If they fought 10 times Haye wipes him out every time after that loss. Thompson was the kind of fighter that you don’t take lightly, big puncher with heart, a very dangerous fighter the Cat was an a gentleman
Haye went life and death with 5"10 Mormeck and beat a glass-jawed Macca at cruiser. Also went life and death with Fragomeni, lost many rounds. That should answer your question.
The blend of speed and power that Haye had at CW, there's a solid case that yes he is the most dangerous. Certainly one of.
I don't criticise him for moving up to HW. He did the right thing for his bank balance. But every boxer makes trade offs like this throughout their career, and you can't have your cake and eat it. Haye had the potential to cement his legacy at CW had he beaten the likes of Huck, Cunningham, Adamek, Bell etc. But he didn't so he doesn't get the bragging rights to be considered one of the ATGs at the weight. Anyway, back to the thread, H2H Haye was dangerous, but he never proved himself to be any more dangerous than a handful of hard hitting reasonably athletic fighters that have fought in the division. He also suffered from major gas and chin problems which would have badly affected his chances against some of the tougher workhorse guys in the division like Lebedev. He was also beaten by Carl Thompson, so I don't see why you hold him in such high esteem when he's already proven to be a man who's made major tactical miscalculations in the past. When Briedis fought Durodola he methodically took him apart. When Gassiev fought Wlod and Lebs he methodically took them apart. These are the guys with the proven track record of getting the job done, not Haye with his life and death struggles with Mormeck. Frags and Mock and his loss to Thompson. These are the guys who should be high on your H2H list, not Haye.
I don't usually do a hypothetical... Oh he'd have beat them anyway so why bother with a fighter... But if Hayes options when he left to cement his legacy we're huck, cunningham, adamek and bell then he definitely made the right call in chasing heavyweight money and trying to dethrone klitschko.. In an admittedly tame performance... But I wouldn't fancy any of those mentioned over Haye. And its abit harsh to use the Thompson fight against Haye... What was it.. His 11th fight? Haye nearly stopped him in the first from what I recall and **** his load for the stoppage... Dumb mistake but a few fighters have made it before... It happens.... Some fighters do have **** performances now and again where they struggle with people they are more talented then... Two instances I can think of with fighters you mentioned... Breidis blows hot and cold... Can't remember who it was against but one of his recent fights he looked awful... And lebedev... Wasn't he getting out boxed by the ghost of Roy Jones a few years back... Good fighters can have **** nights.. Sometimes they fight to their opponents level
Holyfield was a 185lb cruiser (old limit) compared to 200lb Haye. The early 205lb Heavyweight Holyfield that fought against Douglas, Foreman and Bowe is a fairer comparison to Haye and I'm sure most would agree he was a superior fighter.
Gassiev methodically took Lebedev apart? He struggled badly, the fight could have gone either way, and this is against an old, battle weary Lebedev. Durudola and Wlod are hardly standout names, and Briedis has failed to impress on numerous occasions, against the shell of Mike Perez for example. Both Briedis and Gassiev would be out of their depth against a prime Haye.
