Where do you rate Haye in the list of Wlad's best wins

IMO Byrd was a much better name first time round than Chagaev ever was. Rematch Byrd was around the same level.

 

I've been saying Haye wasn't all that throughout his entire career. I'm not the only one either.

He looked great, looked the part, said the right things to drum up casual interest, yet consistently avoided tough fights against credible challengers. There was a very obvious smokescreen being woven here.

If you want to rate fights on public interest, money and buzz generated, and other business related things then Haye was undoubtedly one of Wlad's biggest fights. In terms of quality he left a lot to be desired.

 

the fact Haye went the distance is what surprised me.

 

Agreed.

 

The division has come alive in the past 2-3 years. Top talent, great fights. Usyk can make the hall of fame, even if he stays at cruiser.

 

That surprised me as well added to the fact he took a couple of punches I was sure he couldn't take, I felt he needed the KO or Wlad would get to him mid to late rounds. I guess he spoiled a lot to survive but I think the performance wouldn't have been so frowned upon if it wasn't for his pre fight antics looking like a giant hypocrite stinking out the joint, added to toe story of course. But at the end of the day he survived against a highly skilled dominant champ that had big physical advantages. It was still very disappointing fight though.

 

In no way am I a fan and in no way did I ever buy into him being some superstar. But yes even in terms of quality I believe Haye at that time, is in Wlad's top 3

 

It's possible. But trouble is we have so little to actually rate him with. His campaign at HW was more or less a joke, and he didn't have a long enough reign at CW to give us more than one or two flashes of excellence. He looked vulnerable even then.

Fighters like Chagaev, Ibaragimov, even Chambers all have comparable or better resumes at HW. Byrd and Povetkin undoubtedly do. Strip away the razzmatazz and Haye doesn't do anything to distinguish himself from the pack.

 

What I liked about this win, is many in the UK were anti-Wlad or questioning him. Many UK posters were picking Haye to win! Then their perception on Wlad changed for the better after he defeated Haye.

I would not place Haye in Wlad's top 5 wins.

Povetkin
Byrd
Ibragimov
Chagaev
Brewster

Haye would be in the next tier.

Peter
Haye
Pulev
Chambers
Thompson

Haye had talent, he could punch, but he was a blown-up cruiserweight with a shaky chin, and lack of appetite for battle when he was in there with someone who could hit back.

 

Byrd and Pov are the two I rated above him, for that reason. But the others you mentioned, nah, sorry man, I get what you mean and I feel dirty arguing for David Haye, but it isn't just about resume. Got to judge by watching them sometimes, and David Haye was a better fighter than Chambers and Ibragimov

 

After looking at that list,,,,he doesn't have a best win

 

Vlad fought a perfect fight against Haye and IMO Haye was fit & still very dangerous, Haye had power & good speed & moved pretty well. I thought I saw him rock the 7" 300lb Valuev (not an easy man to hurt)

Povetkin,McCline, Ibragimov, Brock,Byrd,Peters 1, Thompson,Brock,Brewster2,Chamber,Rahman,Austin,Mercer,Pulev,Jenning all good wins Haye was an impressive win & Vlad's power kept Haye at bay.

#1 Povetkin (only man to beat him) Byrd2, Ibragimov, Thompson,Haye also one Vlads best fights were Joshua (action)

 

We could start with the obvious question of who held the highest ranking when he beat them?

Byrd, Povetkin, and Pulev were all #1

I think that Byrd and Povetkin held that position due to superior bodies of work, while Pulev fell into it because of the shuffling of the pack.

Ibragimov was something like #5 when Wlad beat him, and I think that he was somewhat better than his ranking suggests.

He perhaps paid the price for manning up first.

 

He might have been. H2H he often looked like a savage. But the trouble was, the performances almost always came against old, banged up guys with serious physical limitations. Who's to say if he would have been able to replicate those performances against a higher quality of competition? He certainly didn't come anywhere close when he fought Wlad.

Resumes don't tell the whole story, I agree, but then neither do impressive performances when they come only against mediocre opposition. You need a balance of both to gauge a fighter's true calibre.

And even if you were judging on just H2H ability, is Haye really that much better than Ibragimov?

 

I absolutely think Ibragimov gets shortchanged in discussions like this. He was a solid, skilful guy, with a lot of craft and guts, fast hands and a decent bit of pop. He was always a little undersized, but made up for it with his speed and elusiveness. H2H he would have fared well against a lot of Wlad's other victims, including Haye himself.