who won the face off haye or wlad?

We need MEM to weigh in on Face-off EVTs and their role on ESB.

 

Not that simple. Wlad may be forced to box on the move. How well he can do that I do not know. But if you think Haye will be a static target sitting in range to get jabbed on, it aint gonna happen. Wlad from what I have seen needs to set himself when he throws and granted when he does, it's an onslaught of devastation what he hits he destroy's etc etc. But Haye may try to make Wlad miss and counter, set traps, throw off his rhythm and timing, and Wlad will be afraid to commit himself to throwing punches.

Haye has a better chance than people think.

 

Very interesting indeed. Well if this compelled Wlad to behave more aggressively at the conference, I would say it serves as further evidence that it is in fact David who is in control of proceedings at this point. I think David's absolute refusal to play along has put Wlad in a position he has never been in before. I think David is the first opponent who genuinely (rightly or wrongly) sees himself as a better fighter and this has had a psychological impact on a man who is used to getting things his own way.

I also agree with you about the impact of Adam Booth- a master manipulator and hugely underrated tactician. He could be the difference in this fight.

If the current psychological pattern continues and materialises in the ring 2 July, Wlad could be in trouble.

 

Exactly now they don't know what to Anticipate come fight night. Take in to account Wlad only has one way of fighting, and you factor in that haye can fight to game plans and has used different styles to win fights. Wlad's style is a nothing spectacular but it's very effective that's been proven. But how well can he adapt in a fight? Try to think of guys who he has fought who have been able to mix up styles and tactics and no one really comes to mind. I think unpredictability is possibly the key to a Haye victory here. He's got the mental edge over Wlad, no doubt in my mind about that. If he finds the edge in terms of fight strategy it could be a difficult night for Wlad.

We saw a confident James DeGale (although I felt he won the fight) was taken out of his game some what by Groves counter punching, meaning that Degale had to go forward more which didn't suit him. Booth was able to put together a plan which Degale didn't foresee. Degale camp saw a wound up angry man after all the insults so would fight angry wantign to take Degale's head off. But that's not what happened. Haye can upset Wlad's rhythm and has the style and speed/movement to do so. Wlad better have a plan B because he may find, Haye isn't doing what he wants and that's staying still so he can pummel him. Wlad may have to come to Haye, and in doing so, gets picked off, frustrated. broken down and then taken out.

Of course it may not play out this way, but I can see such a scenario.

 

Wlad should have let Vitali do the face-off in his place

 

His English is even worse.

 

Adam Booth's finest hour is the Groves fight. Groves (regardless of the result) is an inferior fighter to DeGale, but in executing a perfect gameplan he managed to remove all of DeGale's advantages. Booth has a proven track record in devising these strategies and I do have a feeling that he will come up with something which will negate what Wladimir plans to do in there.

People seem to forget that in spite of Wlad's size and recent dominance, he is very much a manufactured fighter. Haye is blindingly fast, hits incredibly hard, and contrary to opinion can execute a gameplan in a disciplined manner. People point to the Carl Thompson fight. That was an immature young man getting too excited and punching himself out. The modern Haye has learned from his mistakes and if Wlad fans are looking to this as an indication of Haye's weakness then they are in for a shock.

I feel that this is Haye's fight to win. If there is a fighter that is "all wrong" for Wlad it is Haye. Wlad has shown more inherant weakness than Haye. He has been knocked down several times, and unlike Peter, Haye will only need the one opening. Wlad will never have been hit so hard so often and I can see Haye breaking his heart.

 

I agree, but his stare down is vicious. Wlad just comes across akwardly when trying to "be the tough guy". He doesn't seem to need to be "that guy" however, because he has alot of other tools that get the job done in the ring.

 

:thumbsup Well constructed and thought out post. I see it much the same when you actually sit down and logically break down the 2 combatants and what they bring that's more or less how I can see it going.

Should be a good one.

 

I also thought Wlad looked like he was going to cry!!!!!!

 

I see where you're coming from, but I think you're a mite too cynical. Personally, I don't think this stuff is fully scripted, but I don't think it's complete improvisation either -- it's somewhere in the middle. Kellerman plays the role of a 'director' in that his job is to manipulate the two of them into creating drama, so he deliberately asks provocative questions or things that will lead them into an area of conflict rather than harmony. I'm sure he plans his questions out in that regard. I don't think Haye and Wlad were reciting lines from a script, though -- I'm sure they had also rehearsed what they were going to say to each other before the meeting (who wouldn't think about that?) but neither of them could anticipate exactly what would occur.

Kellerman or other HBO staff probably indicated what they wanted from the two of them, but I think that moment where Wlad was silent for a long time was unplanned/unscripted. It was too...awkward and strange, and it actually felt like genuine hurt. There was no blustering or hollow insults -- just a simple look where Wlad seemed upset.

I don't think Haye genuinely hates Wlad, though. That seems like an act to generate hype, I agree -- but it isn't manufactured by HBO, it's planned by Haye and his camp. Haye is just trying to generate interest in the fight and mentally throw Wlad off his game at the same time...Wlad, on the other hand, is genuinely upset about the t-shirt antics and the comments about Vitali. Aside from that, Wlad doesn't care that much -- he's fine as long as his family don't get insulted.

 

Agreed :good And as far as who 'won' the Face Off ...if we're talking in terms of who got nervous or a bit scared, it was Haye. He was genuinely concerned Wladimir was gonna crack him across the table. And Haye acted a lot more twitchy than Wlad.

 

are you for real? You must have watched a different face-off in a distant parallel universe.