By Vitali Shaposhnikov: Two of the top current boxing trainers who have made their way into the boxing hall of fame, are butting heads in their predictions to the July 2 Klitschko vs. Haye bout.
Emanuel Steward, Wladimir’s current coach, is stating that Wlad will be able to finish the job quickly, claiming that “Wladimir will stop David in 4 rounds.” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3005TkhdDg&feature=player_embedded. Emanuel has been training Wlad for some time now, and has so far been successful in molding the Ukrainian giant into a tremendous boxer. Before Wladimir, Steward was coaching the previous heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis, thus coaching the bigger fighters is no news to him. While giving a lot of respect to Haye in the above posted link to his video interview, Steward goes on to say that despite Wlad’s weaknesses, which he also touches on, Wlad’s jab and boxing ability will be too much for Haye to handle.
Freddie Roach on the other hand seems to disagree with Steward’s way of thinking, picking Haye to win the fight. “Being forced anywhere outside Wladimir’s comfort zone is his greatest weakness. He does lack confidence as a fighter and we discussed it when I trained him,” said Roach in his interview with The Telegraph – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/8589204/Freddie-Roach-David-Haye-will-beat-Wladimir-Klitschko-in-heavyweight-title-fight-if-he-uses-his-power-early.html
Roach trained Wladimir for a little while towards the early stages of his career, thus has some knowledge of Wlad’s character. On the other hand, too much time has passed and too many fights have been dominated by Wlad, creating the probability that his confidence level is likely to have elevated since. I think Roach is right in saying that Haye’s only shot is to use his attributes very early in the fight, so that if he doesn’t knock Wlad out, he can at least cause some doubt and caution in Wladimir’s mind.
Which trainer do you agree with and who do you pick to win the fight?