Could Haye have accomplished more? If so, how? Perhaps by delaying the Wlad fight and focusing on building his heavyweight resume.
I remember being quietly excited about his move to heavyweight back in the day, he seemed to have the tools to make the huge guys look ponderous and comical but he never really delivered on that promise in my opinion. Flashes here and there but never enough. As for what he could have done differently there really aren't that many top 10 heavyweights in the time of his run at that weight that he'd be a heavy favorite against. They exist sure but none of them do much for him from a legacy or championship prospective. What I'm getting at is I think his matchmaking was pretty smart really. That means the only other avenue available to him imo is to change himself. The way he fought or his physical attributes, and tbh I'd struggle to outline a path that'd make a significant difference against the opposition available.
I think he accomplished the maximum that he could given his injuries. When he stepped up to HW he pulled out of so many fights that were already signed and not just twice against Fury. There were another 2 fights he pulled out of that he was also in camp for. Some people blamed David's vegan diet for him getting so many bad injuries, it sure could not have helped. Also David was not a natural HW, he had to bulk up to be big enough to fight as a HW and that also caused more injuries. David was a natural CW and that was where he was at his best.
Yes, i always felt he had the right style to beat Vitali and Fury. So he definitely could have picked up the WBC belt imo after losing to Wlad. I then think he could have unified with Fury and potentially gone down as an ATG. However, make no mistake about this, I was a huge fans of Haye's so my post reeks with bias. But its been a long time since ive been able to post with emotions about a boxer as I generally am ambivalent. So yeah Haye FTW.
I think he was more of an athletically gifted than skilled. Cause once Haye lost his speed and reflexes he looked ordinary in his comeback losses to Bellew. At his peak though he looked very dangerous due to his combination of speed and power.
In a way, no. Because it's not just about taking punches when it's durability. It's about how your whole body holds up to the job. His didn't. Toes exist in boxing. Some granite, some wet TP.
No, not at heavy. I like Haye and respect what he accomplished, but at the end of the day this is a guy who as stopped by a LHW and dropped by a SMW. The chin, and to a lesser extend, stamina, just weren't there. David Haye's top ten wins... Nikolai Valuev Johnny Ruiz Derrick Chisora Monte Barret Jean Marc Mormeck Enzo Maccarinelli Giocobbi Fragomeni Audley Harrison Arthur Williams Alexander Gurov
Yes but he was like the bionic man. Always broken Pulled out of numerous fights In the end, promoters got sick of him because they kept losing money on him, giving refunds etc. Fans never got hotel refunds back etc. Great talker though
He probably could have carved out a really solid legacy at cruiser had he opted to stay there a while longer. Cunningham, Adamek, Huck, them lot. Winnable fights imo.