By Stuart Cornwell – When England’s David Haye steps in the ring in a few hours in Nuremburg to take on Russia’s Nicolay Valuev, he will be attempting to become the first man to knock out the enormous WBA title holder. Going for the KO is Haye’s modus operandi and it is unlikely to be abandoned for this fight – the biggest of his life – against a man who is notorious for receiving dubious decisions in fights that go the distance. Compounding his need to win by KO (or TKO) is the work he has been doing with his own mouth over the last eighteen months, regarding what he’s going to do to the heavyweights in general and, (until his recent concentration on Valuev since they signed to fight), the Klitschko brothers in particular..
If you have missed or managed to ignore his self-publicity campaign (which I doubt), let us just say he has expressed confidence about his chances against both of them, verbally at least. Knocking out the immense and immovable object Valuev, and picking up the WBA belt in the process (the only one of the four major belts not in the possession of the brothers Kitschko), will go a long way in vindicating him for his somewhat outrageous audacity. It’s not that Haye does not have the talent to warrant such boastful behaviour ; he just has not proved it yet against any significant heavyweight.
If Haye can knock out Valuev no one can accuse him of queue-jumping when he resumes his Klitschko-baiting. If Haye can knock out Valuev maybe the sceptics who doubted the “injury” that caused him to withdraw from his June 20 date with Wladimir Klitschko at a late stage will be begin to take him seriously. And maybe the sceptics who concluded he was a joker when he turned down a real on-the-table offer to fight Vitali Klitschko, in favour of this fight with Nicolay Valuev, might accept that he took the offer with the better terms – and demonstrated a good eye for long-term strategy, in terms of financial and title unification concerns ….. IF he knocks out Valuev. A spectacular and explosive KO over the seven-foot, 315-pound Russian will propel Haye into the big leagues, and a Haye-Klitschko match-up (or two !) will loom large as the next heavyweight mega-fight – the first since the days of Lewis, Tyson and Holyfield – and the ONLY potential heavyweight mega-fight out there (unless any of you are imagining the Klitschko brothers squaring of against one another in a real honest fight). If Haye can knock out Valuev he’s brought the heavyweight division back to life.
Haye can jump right into the top reaches of the all-time best heavyweights to come of out the island called Great Britain, if he can knock out Valuev. The list isn’t a particular prestigious one – for many decades the American boxing press rubbed it in our faces, “the land of the horizontal heavyweights”, which was never quite accurate (Max Baer and Joe Louis couldn’t knock out Tommy Farr, and Joe Bugner went the distance with Ali and Frazier) – but in the last twenty years the stock of Brit heavyweights has risen (due mainly to the exploits of Lennox Claudius Lewis, it must be said). A dramatic stoppage of Valuev will put Haye right behind Lewis – and about equal with Frank Bruno – among heavyweights who have made their professional bones on British soil in the last thirty years. In that period the only others worthy of mention have been Gary Mason, whose style, record and ability said solid but not outstanding (in world terms), and Herbie Hide, whose sensational hand speed and sufficient power were offset by a spectacular and peculiar vulnerability to the punches of the big world-class heavyweights. David Haye’s status as undefeated world (unified) cruiserweight champion suggests he has been performing against men who are at least on a par with the full-blown heavyweight second-raters Hide and Mason mostly built their reputations on, and his win over the 226-pound Monte Barrett sits in that category too. It’s nothing for him to be ashamed of, but not exactly solid proof that he can give Nicolay Valuev a hard fight, let alone win, never mind score a knockout.
If he scores the knockout he will surely have himself something legitimate to boast about among the heavyweights. In 52 fights (50 wins, 1 defeat, 1 no-contest) Valuev has never been knocked down, never been seriously staggered or wobbled, barely been stunned by a blow, and he’s as imposing a figure as any man who’s boxed at top level – only more so. Even the legendary giant champion Primo Carnera, “The Ambling Alp”, 265 pounds (or more) of lean Herculean physique, would be giving up five or six inches in height against Nicolay Valuev, the inventively nicknamed “Russian Giant”. Vitali Klitschko himself, the slightly bigger of the two colossal brothers (at perhaps 6’8” and 250 pounds), is not of Valuev’s stamp either. Valuev is in a size range of his own. If Haye, at a lean and mean 218 pounds, can KO him it’s going to make spectacular viewing, classic highlight clip material, photogenic boxing history. And it will let the heavyweight fighters, the fans and promoters know : Heavyweight David Haye is for real.
Haye wont want to settle for a decision, or rely on receiving one, but it’s not an impossibility that he could. But there is nothing on his record to seriously suggest he will beat Valuev. He has only fought 23 times in just under seven years as a professional, only twice against full-blown members of the open heavyweight division (Tomaz Bonin, and Monte Barrett, both explosively TKO’d), and he’s tasted the canvas already on more than one occasion. He lost a fight early on, his 11th as a pro, against the seasoned and rugged British cruiserweight Carl “The Cat” Thompson, but if anything taking that fight illustrated Haye’s admirable willingness to challenge himself, and the fight itself typified his (perhaps reckless) willingness to go for the KO at any cost (as well as Thompson’s old school grit in weathering the young Haye’s early onslaught). Yet against Valuev, Haye has to be more careful than ever. There’s a distinct chance he might get hit by anything from Valuev’s heavy gloved-fists and go down, Herbie Hide-style, proving to be far too flakey in the chin department. Or worn down quickly by the sheer presence of the huge man, Herbie Hide-style. And it’s not as if Valuev cannot box at all. After 52 professional fights, some against cagey and experienced world-class heavyweights, he has no doubt learned some efficient ways to employ his physical dimensions to his best advantage. And going up against a man whose fight experience has almost exclusively been against men who weigh little more than 190 or 200 pounds, Valuev must be overflowing with confidence.
If Haye does NOT beat Valuev he’s set himself up for being laughed right out of the heavyweight division. Even on a decision loss he can be dismissed for his empty boasts, and ignored by the powers-that-be, and he would have trouble convincing anyone he’s serious about fighting, never mind beating, the Klitschkos. If Haye gets knocked out, a distinct possibility when you weigh the available evidence, he’s just that guy who talked himself into getting knocked out by the least rated of the three heavyweight “titlists”, and it will be an uphill struggle to build any sort of credibility from there on in. The Klitschkos will have nothing to gain from beating him (apart from perhaps personal satification !), IF he gets knocked out by Valuev. But if Haye can KO Valuev, or even beat him beyond bad over the 12 round limit (and actually get the decision), well, with his marketable persona and exciting style, he can be well on his way to being one of boxing’s true international super-stars, and the world might be hit by a bad case of Haye Fever.
For the record, I think he will KO Valuev.