Haye got put on his arse against Lolenga Mock, who was basically a blown up super-middleweight, whats he going to do when Wlad starts landing bombs ??!!!
Have you seen the fight? Haye was far too eager for the KO early in his career - he left himself very open at times and was liable to punch himself out like he did against Thompson - that TKO had far more to do with poor conditioning and pacing himself very badly than his chin - he had Carl all over the place and could have got the KO/TKO if he had picked his punches a bit better but he was too wild and ended up looking like a zombie because he was so exhausted. People often understimate Thompson too, he was a dedicated professional and always came to fight in top condition. In retrospect it was poor matchmaking really to put Haye in with him in his 11th fight! That said, Haye has learnt a lot from the defeat, his work ethic is considerably better, he is far more focused and is now capable of picking his punches better which should greatly improve his finishing capabilities at the highest levels. The Lolenga Mock fight is a perfect example of him being far too wild and leaving himself open, the punch that caught Haye was the kind that you would land only a couple of times in a career, if you are lucky! He may not have been a heavy puncher but all the angles and momentum were in Mock's favour and he put everything into it at that split second and Haye nearly paid the price for it (see Sven Ottke v Anthony Mundine for another example of how a feather fisted fighter punching in the right place at the right time can be considerably more devestating than what they are normally capable of). Haye rallied impressively and landed an equally impressive punch which ended the fight.
Haye looked great in his last fight,but remember it was against another cruiser. Vlad is a robot for sure but his one two is fast and powerful and if he lands it on haye early and staggers him does it make Haye gun shy and not be able to get inside were he can do damage? I still think Vlad maybe a little to big and powerful for Haye although I agree that if Haye were to become heavyweight champion he would be exciting and good for the division...just don't think he can beat Vlad.
Haye is playing hard to get. That article said that he [Klit] wanted to see Haye with a few victories over heavyweights first though, i like that. A match between David and Wladimir would be very interesting, but it would be cool if Haye at least beat a few heavyweights before that so as not to get all the "he was unproven" comments.
It´ll be hard for Wlad to face Haye without having to give up the IBF belt. He´ll probably face Povetkin after Thompson, which would then free him to take whatever fight he wants.
What do you think David Haye is going to think when he does hit Wlad and nothing happens? This is a real possibility. Remember, Sam Peter hit Wlad with some pretty solid hooks and Wladimir didn't go anywhere. MCline, Brock, Brewster, Mercer and countless others have also hit Wlad with several punches and failed to slow him down. The whole bad chin argument with Wladimir stems from three fights. In two of those fights he beat himself, so that leaves only one fight, the Sanders fight. Sanders tagged Wlad with what is probably the most powerful straight left in the last 20 years of boxing. And you know what? Wlad kept getting up. He wasn't ktfo like so many others that Sanders has deposited on the canvas. The ref stopped the fight, but Wlad kept getting up. So, again, pretend Haye connects and Wlad goes nowhere, what's Haye going to do at that point? I've got one suggestion, run for his life.
Hit him again..? Read that back to yourself. he's a professional boxer what do you think he's going to do?
If Haye tries to Ko Wlad the way Purrity and Brewster did, he will be blown out of the ring. Wlad was winning every round and nearly knocking them out before his body collapsed - not exactly a gameplan to follow. Sanders was the only fighter who beat Wlad only with his own efforts, without Wlad overpacing or falling apart. If Haye can duplicate that feat against a much improved Wlad, I give tons of credit to him.
Re Rusticraver's suggestion that I watch the Haye-Thompson fight, I was actually ringside (and not watching through the same rose tinted glasses you appear to ahve been using). Haye may have been too gung-ho but Wlad must surely be granted the same benefit of the doubt. Wlad is too big for him.
This is actually Haye sizeing up a potential matchup, he's very smart is Haye and if he's going to fight Klitchko in 1-2 years than he wants to size him up now - respect to him I say. Wlad will still cripple him BUT if Haye did win......wow! We're talking mega-stardom, I mean walking into the HW division and beating the best = instant world recognition.
Haye was green and has improved loads since then. He was taking heavy punishment cos he was knackered. Hardly an accurance benchmark to hold him against now is it?