Real motives behind Haye's walking out?

Cruiserweight champ and heavyweight champ, pretty good legacy to me. Though I hope he increases it by fighting a Klitschko.

I feel Wlad's legacy is still up in the air. With the lack of overall talent in the division and decreased popularity of it doesn't help him much either. added to the fact that he's been knocked out 3 times by journeymen, 2 of which were at or near his prime doesn't speak too well for Wlad in my opinion.

 

If Haye retires this year I think people will forget about him a lot sooner than we all expect. In ten years he will be no more than a footnote in boxing history. Which is a shame for him, because he actually is a good fighter with lots of potential

 

One of the most agonising statements to be repeated over and over again.

Is it ****ing balls Wlads belt.

The belt that was in recent times:

STRIPPED from Lewis for fighting Grant not ruiz - even though Ruiz and his team was offered the next fight after Grant, only a few weeks outside the mando period.

bounced around between Holyfield (who'd just lost the belt) and Ruiz for 3 fights.

DROPPED by RJJ after beating Ruiz.

won by Ruiz (again) the next fight after that.

LOST by Ruiz, but reinstated after Toney tested positive for steroids.

Won by Chagaev who:

took nine months to defend against MATT SKELTON.

Chagaev stripped - well, no actually, was called "champion in recess" or some ****, as he couldn't defend against Valuev due to injury (cancelled twice), but given the opportunity to have his mandated fight first back, but didn't take it.





There are about 4 or 5 breaks in the chain there, saying "its Wlads, its Wlads" is laughable. Most legit is Lewis, followed by RJJ, and ****, even Toney.



In that case, Ricky Hatton was the undisputed 140 lb champ, as Tszyu was stripped by the WBC and WBA for inactivity after being injured as well.

 

I hope not, but you may be right. Though I dont see him retiring, look for him to fight Vitali by the end of 2011.

 

Why do people take Haye at his word. This **** talker who blabs more than he fights, has proven over and over again that he is not a credible individual. This retirement talk is pure nonsense that Haye spouts because it suits him. It draws more focus, interest and anticipation for what Haye will do in 2011, allegedly his final year. Haye cannot be trusted. You could have saved yourself the journal entry if you'd realize this simple fact.

 

Haha, so true, even fellow Brit Derek Chisora realizes this: "If he wants to retire let him retire, whatever. Nobody cares. Boxing won't miss him, bon voyage"

 

Your "timeline" shows what kind of a poor belt the WBA strap has become. Of course they should have stripped Chag in his Hep-B inactivity period... But stripping Chagaev for Valuev pulling out of the fight and then fighting the best HW in the world was totally bogus of course... But concistent with the WBA's "policy" the last decade.

 

It's better than you or I have done, sure. But in boxing terms? Lots of guys have picked up straps. Two title fights are cruiser against moderate opposition? Fights against Valuev, a shot to hell Ruiz and freaking Audley?

As far as boxing legacies go, there would be an awful lot of guys who have done better. Would Haye even make the top 1000 ATG? As a guess (I am not going to list 1000 better fighters for your amusement) then I'd say not.

Wlad's legacy is still up in the air, of course it is. So is Haye's. Until they retire (and then even a little bit after as we see how their opponents fare). The difference is that Wlad has another 5 or so years. Even if he does nothing but dominate bums for that time, it will still enhance his legacy. Haye has 10 months.

Are you serious when you say that Haye's legacy is good, but Wlad's is up in the air? That sounds like you are trolling or haven't said what you meant very clearly.

 

As much as I dislike Haye, and as much as I agree with the sentiment, I don't think Chisora is saying this because he is in tune with reality.

Chisora is as big of a cocksmoker as Haye is. Haye has ****ed around the boxing world, conned millions of gullible Brits, humiliated his fans, lied and been a general ****wit.

But at least he has never bitten anyone's ear.

 

I think Haye's legacy so far is pretty good. When Wlad was Haye's age, he was just recovering from 2 knockout defeats at the hands of journeymen at the time. So if Haye chooses to fight on, I feel he will probably improve his legacy.

Wlad's legacy just seems to be sitting in place at the moment, not moving up or down. His lack of good opponents is a big reason for that. I think only a win over his brother Vitali or Haye are the only 2 wins at this time that will increase his legacy as a fighter.

 

Truth is that Haye has no chance against either Klitschko, which is the reason he broke a signed contract with Vlad and an implied contract with Vitali. Haye knows he will easily get knocked out. It is his fault that he is not getting those fights. Haye is a fraud, a contract breaker, a liar, a coward and is great at using propaganda to cover for his cowardice.

 

Wlad's legacy has been built mainly since his losses. By that token, you could say that Haye's is the same or better at their respective ages or for the stage of their career. However, Haye's current legacy is not in the same ballpark as Wlad's.

Wlad's legacy will improve by beating a long line of B or B+ fighters, but it will be very slow and incremental. Big, defining fights are needed for his legacy to make big jumps and for his ATG status to improve.

However, Wlad has many more years to do this in. Haye needs it now. If they both retired tomorrow, Wlad would have people talking about him as a top 20 ATG Heavy (whether I have him there or not is irrelevant, people will still be talking that way).
Haye would perhaps have people asking if he might squeak into the top 100 - but I doubt it. Sure, he also won two cruiser title fights, and it always boosts your legacy to win titles at multiple weightclasses. Still, his overall legacy is just not that solid - not in the scheme of all of history's title holders.

Of course, he can change that. The choice is his.

 

VK/Arreola had highest viewing ratings of HBO Championship Boxing in 2009. (=non PPV events).

It topped Antonio Margarito vs Shane Mosley and Juan Diaz vs Juan Manuel Marquez and this happened without any promotional show like HBO's Countdown. It was Vitali's first fight on HBO after Danny Williams whopping in 2004.

Ross Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports has made it clear that only heavyweight fights that he sees as 'intriguing to American boxings fans' are a Klitschko against Adamek or Haye.

He also says that the six-hour delay/European location is a problem for him.

And it goes to both ways:

Would K2P switching from arenas in Europe with perfect airing time for most Klitschko fans to 4,970 attendance in Las Vegas with 5 am airing in Germany make any sense?

I'd love to see the Klitschkos on HBO under commentary of Lampley and Merchant (They seem to be as hard core Klitschko fans as I am) and hopefully Adamek fight delivers that and later possible Haye bout.

 

Good overall post, I see what your saying. I just cant see Wlad's legacy increasing too much based on fighting C and maybe some B contenders. To me it's like lebron playing one on one with top college kids, he's just in another league than them. Similar to Wlad, he's often times 5 or 6 inches taller, just overall bigger, more talented, and better trained and more polished. The odds will always be in his favor based on his weak competition.

Is it just me or did it seem like Wlad's momentum leveled off after the Iggy fight in early 08? I'm guessing it probably did in america, because they stopped showing his fights on HBO not too long after that.