I'll go with Walcott at his best he beat much better fighters than Haye who's record is quite forgettable in all honesty. But Haye certainly has a punchers chance.
Maybe the fact that one out of every three guys who faced Walcott beat him? Isn't 33% more than a "puncher's chance". I'll do one better and favor Haye, not extraordinarily, but enough to bet on him if he's the underdog. A young Haye brings too much man, too much quicks and athleticism to the ring.
I dunno Seamus i feel like Haye has a very shallow resume quite honestly. I know Walcott was inconsistent but his wins for me are considerably better than beating the likes of a totally shot Ruiz, Mormeck, Maccarinelli, etc. Of course Haye could beat Walcott who as you said could be win/lose type fighter, but i feel like Walcott in good form should be favoured here i wasn't blown away by Haye at Cruiserweight TBH. He lost to a 40 year old Carl Thompson, a former Super Middleweight almost knocked him out in Lolenga Mock, and he was in life and death struggles vs Jean Marc Mormeck, Giacobbe Fragomeni. I think Walcott lands a counter right hand on Haye and puts his lights out quite honestly.
“Is it possible to put into words how much you learnt from Jersey Joe Walcott” - “Nah, I still watch tapes of him today and I get chills because fighters today don’t know what they’re looking at. “ - Buddy McGirt - Yeah, Walcott Ices Haye old buddy.