Wasted on the division? Had Haye stuck around just a couple years more he would have been able to fight Cunningham, Wlodarczyk, Adamek, Huck, Lebedev, Hernandez, G. Jones and Drodz. That's a freaking killer resume right there. Even a handful of those names on his win column would have significantly raised his standing and cemented his legacy. He got out before the field heated up, and as such has a ton of question marks over how his career at that weight would have panned out. Personally, given the way he struggled with guys like Fragomeni, Mormeck and Mock I don't think it's realistic to assume he just runs through those guys with ease, and given what we now know about his injury woes I think the attrition would have done him in sooner rather than later, as would the rigours of weight draining. Haye was an exciting and above average cruiserweight. He didn't do enough to be labelled 'incredible.' I think the gaps in his game were always apparent. Poor stamina, poor defence, reckless aggression, sub-par ring iq (for the top level), and an over-reliance on ambush attacks in lieu of smart boxing and breaking down opponents over the long haul. He got away with it for a long time because of his athletic gifts and his intelligence in picking opponents he knew he could beat, but even in his winning efforts he was a very flawed fighter. Again, I don't think there's any justification for that comment whatsoever.
Exactly, It's Ovah. The whole "Haye at cruiser" thing is baffling. He's given WAY MORE CREDIT than any cruiserweight in history, for VERY FEW quality wins, even by cruiserweight standards. He fought exactly two world title fights at cruiserweight, and outside of that he faced maybe 2 or 3 opponents you could stretch to call "world class" cruisers, one of them an old man who stopped him. He deserves to be in the conversation as a top 10 al-time cruiserweight, because the depth since the division was introduced has been poor. But the way he's elevated to a special position at cruiserweight is impossible to figure out.
def a top three wlad win. him, Shaggy, Iggy and Pov jostle for those 3 places. None are outstanding at all, we are talking opportunist titlists. Pov arguably beat Wlad by DQ really, not through actual ability, so that would be a terrible call. 6 round sam peter? if you are desperate , but it makes wlad look poor to call that a good win. Byrd? maybe, but calling a LHW your best win as a SUPERHW is asking for ridicule. Wladdie actually has a few good/acceptable defences on his resume, thats why hes rated above his bro.
Peter was a monster at the time, looking for who necks. Wlad survived multiple knockdowns, something his detractors said he couldn't do. So I believe that was his biggest win. By the same token, getting in the ring with a guy who KTFO of him and TKO'ing him...Lamon Brewster... is in my eyes a big win. Byrd was kind of anomaly at HW IMO...way too small to give Wlad a competitive contest. Povetkin win was atrocious....Klit should have been deducted a couple points with his pushing down on Chucky's head. A good win, but tainted I believe.
He proved he could beat an explosive opponent when he fought Haye. That did a lot for his resume imo because Sanders just mowed him down the last time he fought someone who could ambush.
in that case i am underrating bellew, he proved he could do a wlad twice over and better by stopping haye.
Byrd wasn't a LHW at the time Wlad fought him, and hadn't been for years. He might have made cruiserweight at a push, but it's far simpler to just call him a smallish HW. One with elite defensive skills and a deep and impressive resume. When he made that disastrous move down to LHW at the tail end of his career he was like a walking skeleton. It was clearly not a healthy weight for him any more.
Haye is one of the great promoters in this sport .. never has a guys mouth and looks dictated huge money for so little accomplishment ... Wlad fought much of his career scared of his shaky chin .. we all know how he rebounded from multiple KO losses .. the Haye fight was , believe it or not, a big fight at the time .. we saw a super heavyweight fight a blown up light heavyweight as if his opponent was a mixture of a prime Tyson / Joe Louis hybrid .. honestly Wlad fought the most scared/cautious fight I can remember a big man fight since Renaldo Snipes fought a blown up Eddie Mustafa Muhammad .. that being said he did win easily and that at the end of the day is the bottom line ..
Completely agree. Any elevated status given to Haye at Cruiserweight is based on a perception of his H2H ability, rather than what he actually achieved. There have been other cruiserweights (add Cole and Huck to those mentioned) who have as good as if not better resume at the weight. With regards to the original question, I would have Haye as one of Wlad's top 5 wins. Again this is based on perception of his H2H ability, which can easily be taken apart as his resume is thin at heavyweight as well. What we do know is that Haye was a fast, powerful puncher with excellent timing. The win is a good one to have on Wlad's record, as it shows that he doesn't just fall apart against such opponents like his harshest critics had suggested.
Yup. Byrd fought 90% of his career above 200lbs. He was a heavyweight without caveat or disclaimer, and clearly one of the best of the generation. Stylewise he was meat and drink for Wlad, but it's still an impressive win. In theory I suppose any heavyweight 220 or below can make cruiserweight. There's probably some fleshy heavies between 230-240 who could make the drop if they really wanted to.
Yes, the win validated the opinions of a lot of fans who claimed that Wlad's vulnerabilities had been put to rest following the Sanders fight. In that respect it was a good win to have on Wlad's resume, as it dispelled a couple of nagging question marks many people still had about him.
