Remember Cotto at 140? He was 'an accident waiting to happen', he had a 'glass chin' and 'poor stamina' and he was very underrated. Now look at him. He is a welterweight 'beast', has a proven 'great chin' can go on with his relentless attack all night, and, supposedly top 5 pound for pound. He has gone from being very underrated to being somewhat overrated, but undoubtedly, moving up to 147 was the best move he ever made. In some ways, David Haye is in the same kinda position. Both these fighters were very drained to get down to their respective divisions, Haye perhaps more so, and to those who say, he will crumble under the power of the heavies, he should be far more fit and healthy, and this may do wonders for his admittedly shaky chin, defence and stamina. He might just do a Cotto.
Good post - many wondered whether or not Cotto's chin was really that bad or if it was just because of the weight draining. It's pretty clear to me that it was the latter. Cotto has a very good chin it seems. I hope that is the case with David Haye. He could become a star at heavyweight - not the savior, but a star.
Well Cotto's chin has definately improved at the higher weight. Remember that Haye has to lose around 30 lbs to make 200
That is my point. Fact 1- is that Haye has to drain himself BADLY to make Cruiserweight. Fact 2- is that weight draining CAN affect ability to take punches, stamina etc, best example Cotto. So at this point it is uninformed to suggest that Haye will be starched by the first big punch he takes at Heavy, simply because his chin is less than stellar when he is drained.
Spot on.... ....Haye said himself he lost 30 pounds of MUSCLE for this fight. Thats ****ing insane, that would hinder even the toughest fighter out their.
Now hang on, before we get carried away, Haye got sparked as an amatuer, knocked down heavily by Lolenga Mock, knocked down a few times by Carl Thompson (not all that shameful coz Thompson was a huge puncher) and knocked down by Jean-Marc Mormeck. Thats a lot of knockdowns for someone who's never even been hit by a proper heavyweight. And you cant blame all those knockdowns on weight either. I dont rate his chin as good, but I dont think its glass either. Its his defense thats dodgy, the low left hand. Anyone gets caught flush at his weight is gonna be hurt, unless your Tua or McCall. Any advantage he gets from not having to drain is likely to be cancelled out by the increase in power at heavyweight. He should really work on his defense if he's serious about getting a strap here.
Yep, its his defense that makes Carl Froch look like Willie Pep thats his biggest downfall. But he should be a bit more durable at heavy. Its obviously helped Cotto.
Haye is 6'3" and all muscle for god's sake! Of course he IS weight drained to make 200. Although I don't know how moving to heavy would affect his punch resistance. It very well could help him a lot.
i think it will at least help his punch evasion. he will be a lot quicker at heavyweight than cruiserweight