After following Vitali Klitschko for many years I came up with the prototype of the only type of fighter that can beat him and the interesting thing is that Haye is the closest match to that prototype. I basically postulated that the type of fighter that could beat Klitschko (or at least challenge him) would have to have certain attributes. The fighter would have to be at least 6'2'' with good speed. Haye is 6'3'' and has speed to burn. As far as punching power, this fighter would have to have above-average power and most importantly, be able to put himself in position to land punches. Haye is a big hitter and his speed and mobility allow him to do the latter. Why is this so important? Take a look at Vitali's last 4 fights. Against Johnson, Sanders, Williams, and Peter Vitali's workrate was ridiculous but you have to look closer as to why. Those fighters presented themselves as stationary targets offering very little in terms of offense. Without anything to make Vitali respect them (other than a "sniper attack" from Sanders in the first round), he was able to sit back at range and fire punches at will. A probing jab, hooks, and straight rights. Against Williams, so little was coming Vitali's way that he was able to throw uppercuts straight down the pike. It has always been my opinion that Vitali's most underrated quality is his defense. He rolls with punches, leans back, and generally stays out of the way. He rarely gets hit with more than one consecutive punch and if all he has to do is take a single punch here and there his chin will hold up. With stationary opponents who can't put themselves in position to land anything, Vitali's already sound defense looks that much better. The 4 aforementioned opponents would simply plod in and get hit at will. Now, when a fighter can put himself in position to land the big punches it could change the whole dynamic of the fight. The accumulation of punches Vitali lands will break guys down and he's usually comfortably entrenched in a rhythm in which he can just throw punches in bunches and dodge the occasional punch with ease. If a guy can give angles and land punches consecutively it will interrupt Vitali's rhythm and if those punches are hard (Haye can crack) it will give him somthing to think about. In other words, if Haye can somehow intelligently force the fight he can put Vitali in the position of having to fight out of his comfort zone. Now granted, Vitali can adapt to this but at his age he's bound to have slowed down a tad. In sum, David Haye has all the necessary characteristics in terms of dimensions, speed, and power to give Vitali trouble but the one thing that he doesn't have (and the thing that will most likely be his undoing) is the chin. Now please don't discredit me for what I'm about to say but I always felt that the first round of Klitschko/Hide was the blueprint. Hide won the round by showing speed and landing a few nice combinations. The problem was that his chin would never be able to hold up. That type of strategy executed by that type of fighter would be effective. A smaller, quicker guy who can punch. The striking similarity is the chin problem. Hide certainly didn't have the chin to hold up and we have no reason to believe that Haye does either which can render everything I just said irrelevant. Thoughts?
His chin isn't glass, i don't get this perception people have of chins i really don't. I'm not just talking in regards to Haye either. RJJ has been knocked out and a few say he has got a weak chin, Lennox Lewis been knocked out....has he got a weak chin? Does Nigel Benn have a weak chin? Cause he lost to Watson remember, punched himself out like Haye did versus Thompson. Can't credit be given to the the fighters who achieved the ko instead of saying 'he has a weak chin', its like its a crime to be knocked out. While David Hayes chin isn't granite ala Margo, it certainly isn't weak/glass and he will not get knocked out by a jab. He has been down in is career and gotten back up to win, which is a great feat. If Vitali lands a power shot flush, then yea Haye will get KO'ed as would a vast majority of HW boxers (remember its HW the ko division). But i guarantee if that happens everyones gonna be on here shouting out what a weak chin he has. And vice versa if Haye to lands a bomb on Vit and KO's him, does that mean Vits got a glass chin?
One question....Does Haye have what it takes to go the same distance lennox went with Vitali in the same type of fight? The answer is quite obviously no! If Haye sits back and tries to out box Vitali he'll get picked apart like Sam Peter but if he goes out on the attack he'll be deposited on his ass like Kirk johnson. Come on Monte Barret didn't have any problems landing on Haye so why would Vitali? We all know that Haye doesn't have anything that compares to the uppercut LL landed on Vitali and that didn't put him out So Haye can't out box him and he can't out slug him so what formula causes Haye to win?
interesting post, is that true that Hyde won the first round over Klitschko? Haye's chin is not as bad as Hide, but it's not great either...even by his own admission. one thing that is sure is that Wladimir looks a safety first chump again, letting his big bro take care of the real threats. Haye has been calling Wlad out specifically and he shies away...total poofter. They probably thought Haye would shy away if they put Vitali in his face but unlike Wlad, Haye has balls of steel.
Lewis had Klitschko hurt, look how he was holding on at the end. Sanders hurt him and put him down in the 1st but the ref ruled a bull**** slip. Klitschko starts a heavy favourite but Haye has speed, audacity and power to trouble him.
If you call what Kirk Johnson did "an attack" then your definition of the word is different from mine. I'm not saying that Haye will beat Klitschko, I'm just saying that after all the styles and opponents I've seen go against Vitali I basically formulated what type of fighter it would take to give him a fight. The problem is that this type of fighter doesn't really exist because Haye doesn't have the chin for the job. I define effectiveness against Vitali as being anything that interrupts his rhythm and workrate or anything that can put him on the backfoot. If Haye had the chin to march forward I can see him being able to do both but he doesn't and that will keep him from taking the chances that one must take to beat a guy like Klitschko. If the fight is fought at range it's an easy Vitali win.
Haye has two things that is needed to beat either Klitschko: speed and power I have doubts about his Chin being able to stand up to their power though.
So what you are really saying is it'd take a Mike Tyson clone to beat VK. But as we know, there are none..........
The thing is Haye is going to knock out Klitscho he is a risk taker with speed and power! this is an aging champs worst nightmare a Hungry risk taker with speed and power.
you cannot judge vitali on the peter fight, he may as well be fighting a punch bag. i think haye is gonna win by UD.
I agree with the original analysis, but I'd like to add to it. 1. Stamina: Haye has had stamina problems in the past. Being in there with a huge man like Vitali will not help. If there is any wrestling, or leaning, simply punching a guy who is harder to move...it drains energy..quick. You get tired with Vitali in front of you, you'll soon be taking a nap. 2. What does Vitali have left? The Peter fight showed us little about what Vitali has left in the tank. Peter is trash, and Vitali handled him as I expected he would. Has Vitlai slowed down enough to be there for Haye to take? If Vitali is at his old level, I don't think Haye could beat him, but if he's slided down enough, Haye might be able to do some damage and win.
