Hayes cruiser years

Very exciting Cruiserweight, he had to adjust his style towards the giants but still put on solid displays against the likes of Barrett, Ruiz & Chisora. Valuev is an underrated fight, he and booth stuck to a gameplan and it successfully came through. He's a top 5 Crusierweight ATG. It's not a myth, a lot of the Classic posters view it the same also considering it's still a young division.

 

Shame he didn't hang around for the Cunningham, but thats the only criticism I can give to a Cruiser Haye.

 

I agree with the OP, I like Haye but...

To me Haye was still on his way up, Mormeck his first big test at the level (Thompson aside obviously), I thought he was still inexperienced and perhaps not ready. He came through that fight after a scare. Then he bombed Maccarinelli out (and that form line hasn't held up well), and was proclaimed as the undisputed Cruiser champion and gradually proclaimed an all time great at the weight.

He didn't actually DO a lot to earn that IMO...

 

he was deffo the hardest hitting 14st4lbs boxer in the modern era

 

You're listing his heavyweight achievements to add credence to his Cruiserweight record? :huh

 

I think it's fair to say that Guillermo Jones has also surpassed Haye's accomplishments at CW now. Even more so impressive that he took out prime Lebedev in style at the age of 41, stunning.

Haye should probably consider going back to CW and see if he can add to his two World title wins thus far.

 

there hasn't really been a great deal going on at Cruiserweight though. so make of it what you will...

Fragomeni
Enzo Mac
Mormeck
Gurov

a handful of good wins there, but not really something to shout about. he did bring unrivaled excitement at the Weight, there is no question about that. but for him being a great fighter at the Weight i'd just take with a pinch of salt. the division is young.

had he of been able to fight at Cruiser and not struggle with the Weight, then yes, he'd still be champ now.

i don't agree about Nelson and Huck being more proven either. especially Nelson. he fought the biggest selection of bums you could find. and Huck is still going due to dodgy judging, not because he's a great fighter. he'd of lost his title a long time ago if it weren't for the robberies.

i still have the Lebedev fight as the worst robbery i have ever seen. and i've seen a **** load of robberies in my time.

so i rate Haye a lot higher than those two. H2H he'd of hurt both of them on a serious level.

 

Agree with the view that the cruiser division is so young and lacking in depth that it isn't a great yardstick for measuring greatness.

 

i'd rather be the man that became THE champ at the weight with opposition that mattered in double quick time, over someone like Nelson who fought a load of crap over a long period of time. it's all down to the substance. Nelson doesn't have any.

Huck has lost a fair few in his time, so his longevity doesn't come into it. anyone can fight at home and be the receiver of dodgy decisions. he's good, but slightly fraudulent.

Haye has the genuine substance for me. all clear cut wins. all by KO.

 

Haye would beat Huck and Nelson I feel prime for prime.

Nelson's reign was absolutely abysmal as is his record when you actually look at it.

Haye didn't really have the opposition around to prove it but he was definitely the number 1 of a weak division. He absolutely sparked the then unbeaten Enzo too in brutal fashion.

He did all he could apart from the Thompson blemish when he fought like a novice and got the tactics all wrong. He deserves credit for travelling to face Mormeck too and getting the win.