Where does David Haye rank in Wladimir Klitschkos list of opponents? Is he the best?

Wladimir Klitschko is the number 1 ranked HW in the World today holding two of the 4 main Titles (WBO and the IBF) in addition to the highly regarded Ring Magazine Title.

He has a record of 55 victories (49 stoppages) with 3 defeats.

In my humble opinion, his greatest victories are as follows:

1. Ruslan Chagaev - Undefeated WBA Champion
2. Sam Peter (1st fight) - Hard punching, undefeated contender
3. Chris Byrd (2nd fight) - Slippery IBF Champion
4. Sultan Ibragimov - Undefeated WBO Champion
5. Lamon Brewster - Avenged defeat.

He has also beaten the likes of capable top 10 fighters such as Tony Thompson, Eddie Chambers, Montee Barrett and Calvin Brock as well as past prime former belt holders such as Franz Botha and Ray Mercer as well as shot ex Champion Hasim Rahman.

He was beaten by the dangerous Corrie Sanders and journeyman pro Ross Puritty early in his career.

Now, I like Wladimir. I admire him greatly. What's not to like? A true gentleman, well educated, speaks multiple languages and I admire the manner in which he rebuilt his career after the crushing defeats against Sanders and Brewster within a short time of one another. He is clearly the stand out HW of this weak generation (and I include his brother in that) and has done remarkably well to the point he's knocking the door to the top 20 HWs ever in my opinion.

However, looking at his competition, I believe he's rarely faced an opponent as dangerous as David Haye who for all his bluster, does have genuinely brillant gifts in terms of his power and speed. He's also shown great heart when knocked down in the past, coming off the canvas in a foreign land to become thee Crusierweight Champion against a good fighter in Mormeck. He's also demonstrated the ability to plan and execute a perfect strategy against the awkward Nicoaly Valuev and has show us his speed and power in the Ruiz fight.

Now with all that in mind, where would you place Haye in terms of Wladimir's opponents? I actually think Haye's record at HW is pretty decent (Valuev, Barrett and Ruiz) considering how **** poor the division is these days and his CW work should not be completely ignored. He also clearly has certain tools that can worry Wladmir, and is a belt holder regardless of what we think of the WBA.

I think there is an argument there for David Haye being the best fighter Wladimir has ever faced and certainly the most dangerous since Peter the first time, or even Sanders.

What do you think? Where would you rank David Haye in this respect?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

JPAB,

Interesting post. Thanks for taking the time to write such a well thought out reply. What I'd say about the Peter win is consider the place Wladimir was in at the time: he had been stopped twice in the past couple of years. Touch of Sleep had knocked him down. He didn't look all that confident a fighter going into a fight that some were saying was make or break for his career against an undefeated puncher whom some were speculating was the future of the HW division. He was an underdog.

But he won and he did so by overcoming adversity. That's why I rate the first fight so highly, and didn't mention their 2nd encounter, by which time Peter's drawbacks had been well and truely exposed and Wladimir's confidence restored, his style set.

I just don't think Chambers or Byrd (though I probably rate them as better fighters than Peter) had the qualities to present Wladimir with any trouble, owing to their relative lack of punch power.

I agree with your assessment of what Haye has to offer in terms of explosive power. I think that quality could well win this fight as Wladimir has not been tested by that combination of speed and power since the Sanders fight.

I think you're a little harsh on Hayes resume: I thought he should've won by a wide score against the cumbersome Valuev and whilst Ruiz was past his best, many have struggled badly against him. In fact, only Tua beat him more convincingly than did Haye in my mind, including Jones who outboxed him soundly but of course, didn't beat him up and stop him in the manner that Haye did.

Haye has the qualities to frighten Wladimir in there again. He's alot more experienced since the days of stumbling around like a drunkard against Sanders, but he's not been tested in that manner since.

I think Haye is Wlad's most dangerous opponent, certainly. I will be very impressed if Wladimir dominates and stops him, very impressed indeed.

 

I think it's a reasonable topic to raise TFFP and theres a reason I did so in this forum. I look at the discussions over at the general, and a common way to disparage Haye is to assert the view that's he isn't Wladimir's best opponent.

I think that's poppycock personally, and wanted to see the views of people who know what they're talking about over here at the British.

Haye to me, is a very dangerous opponent for Wladimir indeed and poses the sort of problems that Klitschko hasn't faced since Sanders.