By Robert Cookson – David Haye (UK) travelled to Germany to dethrone Nicolay Valuev (Russia) in a dull fight which, ironically, should bring excitement to the heavyweight division.
It was a disciplined display from the Londoner as he moved around the ring constantly, keeping his distance and would try to steal rounds with quick and, it must be said, short bursts of punches..
Valuev trundled forwards throwing jabs followed by not very much at all. That said, it was the big Russian who forced the fight throughout, always trying to make the action.
Haye would have none of it. For a man who had boasted of doing all kinds of things to the giant from St Petersburg, he was surprisingly negative. Haye said he may have broken his right hand somewhere around the third round, claiming hitting Valuev was like ‘hitting a brick wall,’ and that is certainly a fair excuse as to why that potent weapon was rarely used. However, trying to steal rounds in such a negative way was very risky, particularly on away soil.
Every round followed a very similar pattern. Valuev would come forward behind his jab while Haye would keep his distance and, often just once in the round, throw a couple of punches before getting on his bike again.
Haye’s defence was very good, he was rarely caught and his angles, speed and footwork were exemplary for a man of 6’3 and 217 lbs. Watching on TV, Haye looked almost like a boy when compared with the Russian but, while not big for a heavyweight, he’s certainly not a small man.
Valuev, on the other hand, plodded rather than moved and tried to thud, rather than snap, home whatever punches he was able to get off against his much faster opponent. He did land one or two punches, including a good right hand early in the fight, but they gave Haye little trouble.
From the 10th round onwards Valuev, becoming increasingly frustrated, tried to up the pace as much as he could but Haye stayed with him and even managed to rock Valuev with a left in the final round. Haye, who must have burnt up a lot of energy with his perpetually motion, seemed to cruise the 12 rounds easily. Stamina never looked like becoming an issue as many people, including myself, thought it would. There were reasons for this; the fight was slow-paced and Valuev never got close enough to make his weight tell but credit still has to go to Haye and his camp for his conditioning.
It has to be said that going into the last round I had Haye two rounds behind, although there were so many positives to his performance he just didn’t engage often enough to make me think he was winning the fight. There were rounds when it was possible to miss his offensive output by blinking. Couple that with being in Germany, a country not known for its generosity towards visiting fighters, and I was surprised by the way Haye started the final round, staying away and doing the same as he had for the previous 11. It was Valuev who was trying to up the tempo and have a fight. Haye seemed to feel he had it in the bag. Then came the left.
Haye had landed a couple of good rights in the seconds before he countered with a left which caused the Russian to stumble unsteadily towards the ropes. Immediately Valuev shook his head to say he wasn’t hurt but he clearly was. Haye rained in a few more punches before the referee separated them, threw a few more and then went back to his previous tactics of not engaging. Watching at the time I found it curious that on his biggest night Haye didn’t try to make sure of the fight there and then. Obviously he didn’t want to get caught so close to the finish but he can’t really have been overwhelmingly confident of victory.
In the event, Haye didn’t need to gamble. He was in front on two cards 115 – 113 while the third had it 114-114 a draw and Britain its first heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
Haye is in an excellent position. The Brit is all the things that have been missing from heavyweight boxing. He’s charismatic, good-looking, accessible and exciting. He can fight a bit too, and the power, he undoubtedly has will certainly help him as he endeavours to unify the heavyweight division.
The Klitschko brothers are certainly in Haye’s thoughts, although after the palaver of their previous aborted meetings, could be difficult to negotiate. John Ruiz, who also won at the weekend, took step-aside money in this fight, so long as he could meet the winner, will certainly want his shot at the new champ. Strangely Ruiz, who’s rarely in a decent fight, could match up favourably with Haye and make an entertaining contest.
Right now though, Haye should sit back and enjoy his moment. It’s an excellent achievement to gain a heavyweight title in just your third fight at the weight and the British public have certainly got behind their new man in a way that even Lennox Lewis would be enviable of.