JDC wrote:I was in Cardiff for maccas last fight, absolute shocker. I was pissed as a fart, but as I remember the crwd hardly muttered on the knock out.
Think we were all in shock at the pathetic opponent.
Would haved loved to have gone to the O2 though if my mate wasnt Thai fighting in Leeds the day after
I was there too mate and it was deahly quiet. I thought the ref had stopped the clock.
I'll be there next Sat, couldn't miss it. Best boxing venue in Britain IMO.
I just can't see how anybody here gives Macca any semblance of a chance.
Mind you I thought Eastman was a banker against Duddy!!!
But Macca has not fought anybody. He is crude and has just been brought along well by Warren. A hype job is a slightly unfair description, but he's not far off.
I just think he's in with a proper big dog now. Haye has fought better opposition and stepped up well every time. He oozes clas.
OK he lost to Thompson. But Thompson was a beast. And Haye fought him only 11 fights in. That is pretty impressive in itself....
How many of our prospects have fought a reasonably recent world champion 11 in??
Maelstrom wrote:I just can't see how anybody here gives Macca any semblance of a chance.
Mind you I thought Eastman was a banker against Duddy!!!
But Macca has not fought anybody. He is crude and has just been brought along well by Warren. A hype job is a slightly unfair description, but he's not far off.
I just think he's in with a proper big dog now. Haye has fought better opposition and stepped up well every time. He oozes clas.
OK he lost to Thompson. But Thompson was a beast. And Haye fought him only 11 fights in. That is pretty impressive in itself....
How many of our prospects have fought a reasonably recent world champion 11 in??
Haye all night long for me!!
I really hope you're right, but I have a bad feeling about this one for some reason
I'm a huge Haye fan.... he's everything a fighter should be IMO, and whilst I liked Macca previously, his effort on setanta after Hayes big win has turned me right off him....
Hayes done everything the right way, stepped up his comp every time he's fought, not taken any gimmes, and fought the linear champ on his own turf.... I'd hate to see him give the fans what they want - ie the macca fight, when he shouldn't even be at the weight anymore.... and then lose the titles to team Macca. Can you imagine the shite we'll hear from Warren + co if they win?
Anyways..... honestly, I reckon Haye will win this one impressively, but like I say, I have a bad feeling, and am more than a little nervous about this one
I'll be fine come next sunday morning, when Haye's done the business and Macca dissapears sheepishly off into the sunset
It's going to be a highlight reel KO that he'll never live down. Not that there's any shame in being knocked out at the top level, but it's going to be a bad one, the type that becomes part and parcel of a fighter's identity.
Everytime you see him from March 8th onwards you'll picture that ingrained image of him being put to sleep, explosively.
Count me among those with a "bad feeling" - because Haye is better than Macca yet Warren's waited till Haye is dead at the weight. Class is one thing, and I agree Haye is half a class above Macca. But timing is a major factor here.
I'll need to see more than a 1-round win at heavyweight from Haye before I'm convinced it's the weight making that is responsible for his quick fatigue whenever he is under pressure.
When he moves up for good I suspect we'll see a bigger slower version with even greater stamina issues.
It's nothing personal, I just think weight making is only 1 part of his problem.
Kilburn wrote:I didn't look to me as if Haye was getting better, he just kept himself in the fight and then Mormeck fell apart. It was a fine win but he looked as vulnerable as ever.
Put the 2004 version of Carl Thompson in with Haye of today and you'd still get a pretty similar result, IMO.
I disagree.. As haye's snap and reflexes have depleted, he's got smarter, learned how to pace himself, and proved his ability to survive a crisis. I think a disciplined, patient Haye beats Thompson. Thompson never got to the level Haye's at now.
Haye hit Thompson with everything but could not make a dent. "Pacing himself" would only have given Thompson an earlier oppurtunity to start landing shots IMO.
I really don't think Haye has improved that much. He obviously has more experience now and showed great heart against Mormeck. But if you can't hurt Thompson then you need excellent stamina to deal with him over 12 rounds, which Haye did not have and still doesn't. He is lucky Thompson was coming to the end of his career and in quick decline, so no real pressure for a rematch.
I have been watching Haye since he turned Pro (whilst I was at Uni, my mates would be out getting smashed an i'd be up watchin him box on BBC late at night - sad I know)... And I feel he beat Enzo...
Though I just can't but help feel a little uneasy for some reason.
Kilburn wrote:Haye hit Thompson with everything but could not make a dent. "Pacing himself" would only have given Thompson an earlier oppurtunity to start landing shots IMO.
I really don't think Haye has improved that much. He obviously has more experience now and showed great heart against Mormeck. But if you can't hurt Thompson then you need excellent stamina to deal with him over 12 rounds, which Haye did not have and still doesn't. He is lucky Thompson was coming to the end of his career and in quick decline, so no real pressure for a rematch.
I think he's improved enormously, but that he has lost some of his snap now. Haye was forcing the KO, tired himself out and gave Carl the chance to pounce. After that he calmed down at worked toward the KOs, either breaking fighters down (stocky pressure fighters Frago & JMM) or letting the KO punch come naturally.
His stamina didn't look too bad vs Fragomeni. I really wish he was at heavyweight so I could see more of how he would look over, say, a 12 round distance vs a stronger/slower man. Haye will benefit a move up to heavy as much / more than Jermain Taylor did from going up from middle to super middle. At 160 he gets flattened by Pavlik. At 164 he takes the power and goes a hard 12 rds...
This reminds me a bit of the Benn-Eubank-Watson fights. At some point all 3 of these became weight weakened down at middle, especially Eubank-Watson part 1 which never became a great fight...In Haye-Macca's case, Mac looks in his absolute physical prime, whereas Haye has leg cramps warming up for the biggest win of his career (Mormeck). I don't think we'll get a great rivalry, because 1) Mac won't have a rematch at heavy and 2) Mac may just wear him down if it goes past 5 rds.
David Haye plans to quit boxing in three years and intends to go out as the heavyweight champion of the world, but first he takes on Enzo Maccarinelli in an all-British cruiserwight unification fight that will shape whether or not the fast-living boxer's plans ever come to fruition
Sean Ingle
Sunday March 2, 2008
The Observer
If you ever need a good steak, Stringfellows is the place to go in London,' says David Haye earnestly, briefly diverting his thoughts from his monastical pre-fight regime of sweat, sleep and slow starvation. 'Many times I've eaten a scotch rib-eye steak there and, coincidentally, you're enjoying it near a nice-looking lady who's naked. It makes the food go down that much better.'
For now, though, the fat-soaked steaks and G-stringed girls with obliging smiles are off the menu as Haye, the WBA and WBC world cruiserweight champion, prepares for the biggest all-British fight for 15 years - against the WBO title holder, Enzo Maccarinelli, at the 02 Arena in London on Saturday.
'It's rare in boxing that you get the two best in the division slugging it out toe-to-toe,' Haye says. 'The last time two British world champions fought was Nigel Benn against Chris Eubank in 1993. That was huge, but this fight will be more explosive.'
Boxers are masters of the bombastic, particularly when marketing a fight, but Haye may just be right. Both he and Maccarinelli like to come forward; both can bang, but also buckle. And both are promising fireworks. 'It will come down to who lands the first clean bomb, and his style is tailor-made for me,' Haye says. 'I can't see it going past five rounds. The only way he will win is if he gets a chin transplant from Marvin Hagler.'
Deep down, Haye must know it is unlikely to be that easy. Maccarinelli is bull-strong and defensively savvy, while Haye carries his hands low, as if producing them from holsters, and can leave himself open. He has the bigger punch, but perhaps the weaker chin, too.
Another imponderable is how Haye's weight will affect his performance. Between fights it often rises past 16st without prompting, and slimming his 6ft 3in frame down to the cruiserweight limit of 14st 4lb is such torture that, after shedding 14lb in 10 days before his last fight against Jean-Marc Mormeck, he admitted he was only fighting at 70-80 per cent of his ability.
Can he go through it again? 'Well, I'm in boxing to entertain,' he says. 'So it would have been a bit selfish of me to deny my fans a big fight against Maccarinelli just because I find it tough getting down to the weight. What kind of champion would I be if I refused to fight a man who some people in Swansea believe has my number?'
This time round, Haye entered camp 17lb over the cruiserweight limit and admits this forced weight loss does not get any easier. 'There are no short cuts,' he says. 'Just hard work and dedication. Hard work and dedication.' It sounds like a pained mantra, and when he talks specifics you understand why: six small meals a day, each no bigger than his outstretched hand, made up of lean proteins, vegetables and salads. And pretty much nothing else. 'I love chocolate,' he says, 'and after a fight I can eat a kilo's worth of Galaxy in one go, no problem, but you have to wean yourself off it.' Along with bread, alcohol and all saturated fats.
Haye, who says he has stuck to the diet religiously, insists those hunger pangs will be worth it come next weekend. 'Training's going really well,' he says at his camp in the swampy humidity of south Florida. 'I'm healthy, my weight is real good, my timing's perfect. My power and strength are as good as they possibly can be. I'm spot on.' To prove his point, Haye says he recently set a personal record for the bench-press of 179kg , almost twice his body weight.
But Haye, who is 27, says he will be far stronger when he moves up to heavyweight after beating Maccarinelli. 'My plan is to not box past 30,' he adds. 'That gives me three years to become heavyweight champion of the world. I'm not going to cut any corners, I'm not going to fight any bums, I'm just going to get straight out there and clean up that division. Since Lennox Lewis retired there's been no flagship heavyweight running the show, and I really do believe that's going to be me.'
Back in 2004, when Haye was stopped by 40-year-old veteran Carl Thompson, his only defeat in 21 fights, he would have been laughed out of London, his home town, for such a remark. But this is not the 1970s. There is no Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman or even a Jerry Quarry eager to call his bluff - just an endless supply of flabby eastern Europeans with tidy jabs and zero personalities.
Haye's only cameo at heavyweight, against the WBC's number-11 fighter Tomasz Bonin, augured well, ending with a one-round blow-out in his favour. But Nigel Collins, The Ring magazine's editor-in-chief, is cautious about whether Haye can step up. 'I like David a lot,' he says. 'He's all-action, articulate, charismatic and has almost everything... but we just don't know how his Achilles chin will hold up at heavyweight. But after last weekend's nonsense at Madison Square Garden between [IBF heavyweight champion] Vladimir Klitschko and [WBO champion] Sultan Ibragimov, it's obvious that the division is crying out for new talent.' The Ukrainian won the unification bout by a unanimous decision after being jeered during a dreary contest.
With the Maccarinelli fight being shown live on Setanta in the UK and on Showtime in the US, Haye has the chance to showcase his talents to a worldwide audience. Win, and anything is possible, suggests Collins. 'At the moment Haye has a following only among hardcore US boxing fans,' he says. 'But if this fight is as exciting as everyone expects it to be, it will certainly open inroads into America.'
Whatever happens, Haye says he is in boxing for glory, not fame. 'I couldn't care less about fame - the whole celebrity thing is a joke,' he says. 'And I've had more than one lifetime's share of women so I'm definitely not motivated by pussy.'
This is perhaps not entirely true. His MySpace page has a photograph of him posing with Hugh Hefner, and pictures of many of his 7,000-plus friends, most of whom seem to have an aversion to wearing clothes. 'I don't know what it is, they seem to be drawn to me,' Haye says, deadpan. So if you weren't a world champion boxer, what would you be? 'Probably a supermodel.' Well, he has modelled for Versace and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Those snatches of conversation, taken out of context, could be construed as arrogant, but Haye comes across as effusive and intelligent - albeit with the odd alpha-male curveball.
He talks eloquently about how much he enjoys working with his company Outbox UK, which instructs gym trainers on how to teach boxing. 'Every technique has been accredited by the British Boxing Board of Control,' he says proudly. 'The course was just a week after the Mormeck fight and everyone who turned up couldn't believe I was there: but I'm not just a poster boy for my company, I walk the walk.'
He talks about the thrill he gets from teaching eight-stone girls to take him on the pads, adding without a hint of vanity: 'If someone wants to learn how to box, who best to learn from than the best boxer in world?'
He sounds totally serious; a thumping victory next weekend and a few people may just start believing him.
there is an Eastern European who would give Haye an absolute working over. Povetkin is so skilled, insistent and hard working. I rate Haye but that "tidy jab, zero personality" etc comment is a bit of a generalisation.
