Should Haye gain more experience before going for a title

[Quixall]

In light of recent news that Wladimir Klitschko could be stalling on signing up to fight David Haye, should Haye be looking to fight someone else in the top ten ?

The fight with Vitali came to nothing and now the fight with Wladimir looks uncertain. Should Haye put his world title ambitions on hold and have three or four fights this year, before turning his attention to a world title and the Klitschko brothers in 2009 ??

This strategy could be a risk to Haye, because whilst he has undouted talents, he has yet to fully prove himself at heavyweight and the question marks over his chin, mean that it's possible for a lesser known heavyweight to de-rail his ambitions before they have even begun.

However, if the proposed world title fight with Wladimir Klitschko falls through, then it would become detrimental to Haye in terms of his inactivity and IMO, he would have to fight one or two fights this year, not only to gain more experience, but also, to retain his sharpness, reflexes, speed and ring craft.

Your thoughts please ?

[Herol]

He wants to fight the best as soon as possible. That means that if he can't get one of the Klits next, he will fight the highest ranked available contender, who won't make a really boring fight, that he can get.

Nobody scares him. You talk of the risk of a KO, but look at the rankings and who is actually going to do it? Nobody. Peter has great power but Haye would run rings around him, it would be like Calzaghe-Lacy, or The Matrix.

I say he definitely beats any non-Klit. I think he KOs Wlad and I think that he has a damn good chance against Vitali too.

I would absolutely love to see him fight Valuev, but it won't happen, if it did Haye would humiliate him.

[Syntax Error]

I used to think that Haye should be looking to gain more experience before going up against the brothers, but I've changed my mind now & I think he needs to get in there with either of them ASAP.

Haye is the type of fighter who will never change his outlook & he will always approach each fight the same way: ie, to try & knock his opponent spark out.

Unfortunately for David, he does not have a chin like Jake LaMotta, so going after fights to get experience might be a bit risky for him, as he runs the risk of being derailed before he gets to any one of the brothers.

It's better that gets in with one of them this year because win, lose or draw, you know he's going to provide a spectacle for the fans & that would give him a draw card for the future.

If he lost to someone else on the way, he's pretty much finished otherwise.

[purple.obi]

If he is the gunslinger that Donovan Ruddock was he will stay busy, get in the ring with anyone.

[16562]

he will get all the experiance when he chins wlad and gets the title .........cause he will within 5 rounds

[housesecond]

Of course he'd benefit from more experience. But he probably thinks he doesn't need it. He's probably right.

[Chambers2]

In answer to the thread question, no he's great! He may as well take out the top 2 first then mop up the dregs the later 8)

[rhino222]

i think he should get the big fight asap, because one big shot from a big punching heavyweight will derail hayes train.

i so so hope david does it, but the 'mock' factor worries me loads.

[twenty six]

Quixall,
He's doing the right thing.
That's why he didn't mess around with certain other Promotors who would have stalled his career to turn him into a cash cow.
That's why Hayemaker was born.

[Autobarn]

Haye showed how you do it with his EBU title fights. All these fights developed him for the world title shot - at cruiser.

The question, does he have to do it all over again, because of the new weight? Or can he just go right into a big fight?

Haye can land the jackpot punch, but I can't see him having the come forward game, the endurance or the strength if it doesn't go his way. He can probably reach Wlad's chin with a bomb, as seen vs Gurov (6'5) and Macca (6'4) but Wad will obviously have a strategy for this.

I think it would be better to build up to it, but then there is the risk of being KO'd along the way. Hopefully Haye wins, but if he doesn't, I hope he's kept his weight relatively low, should he want to fight someone like Adamek at cruiserweight.

[yiddo14]

Go straight for it.

The only thing he has yet to experience at Heavy that he didn't experience at Cruiser is the extra power a Heavyweight can generate.
If thats going to be the deciding factor in Haye's career at Heavy then why find out in a non-title bout when you can do it on the big stage against the main man instead?

Is there anyone outside of the Klits and other serious challengers(who wouldn't want to risk a beating by Haye as it could affect their title shot)who could possibly teach Haye anything new?
We are talking about an undisputed Cruiser champ who boxed at the highest level as an amateur don't forget.

Get in with Wlad. Sooner the better.

[Coco]

I think Haye is an accident waiting to happen, but he could also beat anyone on a given day.
He should go straight for the title rather than risk getting beat by a lesser fighter

[Old bones Ian]

Boxers who could teach Haye a thing or 2.
John Ruiz, you may laugh, but Ruiz is an expert in making others look bad and winning in the process, if Haye could get him out of there by KO it would be a statement.

Juan Carlos Gomez, like Haye brings speed and good movement, not as powerful. If Gomez causes an upset against Vitali , we may see this fight.

Alexander Povetkin, the top prospect from the east, brings power, chin and skills. would be a very big risk, but if Haye did beat him then he would prove who's the top contender to the crown.

Chris Arreola the best hope from America, if Haye wants to get exposure in the USA, then take on the best up and comer from there. Arreola looks to have grim determination and a big punch. and with a name like his the tabloids over here would have a field day.

[funso banjo baby]

ive said it before ...
Haye and the Klits could earn some huge money by hyping this up more in terms of David Haye either taking on former Klit opponents ( to make a comparison) such as Thompson and Peter....and thus building interest

and if Haye were to fell the tree Valuev this would put an eventual unification series with the klits into the very heart of the global sporting world


lets do it

we'd be beyond thunderdome

[yiddo14]

Boxers who could teach Haye a thing or 2.
John Ruiz, you may laugh, but Ruiz is an expert in making others look bad and winning in the process, if Haye could get him out of there by KO it would be a statement.

Juan Carlos Gomez, like Haye brings speed and good movement, not as powerful. If Gomez causes an upset against Vitali , we may see this fight.

Alexander Povetkin, the top prospect from the east, brings power, chin and skills. would be a very big risk, but if Haye did beat him then he would prove who's the top contender to the crown.

Chris Arreola the best hope from America, if Haye wants to get exposure in the USA, then take on the best up and comer from there. Arreola looks to have grim determination and a big punch. and with a name like his the tabloids over here would have a field day.

Problem is, these guys won't take Haye on as they are already sitting on a Title Shot in the near future.

[stujones]

Tough call really, In normal circumstances I would say a massive undisputed Cruiserweight champion should go for it asap (in light of the current crop of champions), but Haye has been fighting very like an inexperienced fighter in recent. For me, his boxing has regressed since he won the EBU title. He has gone power mad, telegraphing his right hand alot, and doing more stalking than punching. It almost cost him against Mormeck, and he needed that massive fright to get back to his boxing.

He cannot afford that against Klitchsko.

For me, one of Hayes best performances was after when he beat King Arthur Williams. He boxed a surperbly controlled performance, and worked the openings with the jab. Thats what he must do with Klitchsko. If Haye fights like he did against Barrett, Enzo Mac, and the first part of the Mormeck fight, then I think Wladimir will be more confident.

[Herol]

The reality is that there is nobody to prepare Haye for the Klits

They are a good deal better than most of the contenders, and in most case they are bigger and more athletic.

Fighting Samuel Peter or Matt Skelton would be an interesting scrap, but ultimately once he'd beaten those guys it wouldn't tell us that much more about how he'd beat the Klits.

So he should go for it now. If he can't do it now then he'll keep busy, but it will be difficult to choose a good tall opponent who will fight him.

[charlieb]

Get it on as soon as possible, the likelihood of Haye getting KO'd in preparatory fights before meeting Wlad, is sky high, only slightly less probable than Haye getting KO'd by Wlad himself. It's going to happen as soon as someone connects with anything remotely tasty.

He might as well shoot for the moon, I think he has a good shot at flattening Klitschko.

On top of that, Wlad and big bro dont appear to view him as a serious threat, a financial opportunity moreso than a valid challenge. That could change if he's sparking legit contenders on his way to a fight with Wlad.

It's more likely that he'd get sparked in the run-up fights though, with his chin, it's a testament to his skill and power that he's made it this far without getting KTFO.

[Coco]

The reality is that there is nobody to prepare Haye for the Klits

They are a good deal better than most of the contenders, and in most case they are bigger and more athletic.

Fighting Samuel Peter or Matt Skelton would be an interesting scrap, but ultimately once he'd beaten those guys it wouldn't tell us that much more about how he'd beat the Klits.

So he should go for it now. If he can't do it now then he'll keep busy, but it will be difficult to choose a good tall opponent who will fight him.

Henry Akinwande!

[Old bones Ian]

Boxers who could teach Haye a thing or 2.
John Ruiz, you may laugh, but Ruiz is an expert in making others look bad and winning in the process, if Haye could get him out of there by KO it would be a statement.

Juan Carlos Gomez, like Haye brings speed and good movement, not as powerful. If Gomez causes an upset against Vitali , we may see this fight.

Alexander Povetkin, the top prospect from the east, brings power, chin and skills. would be a very big risk, but if Haye did beat him then he would prove who's the top contender to the crown.

Chris Arreola the best hope from America, if Haye wants to get exposure in the USA, then take on the best up and comer from there. Arreola looks to have grim determination and a big punch. and with a name like his the tabloids over here would have a field day.

well obviously Gomez is getting a title shot so thats him out, but i think Arreola and Povetkin would be will to get into the ring with Haye, he is the biggest payday outside of fighting the Klitchko's , and both of them seem willing to take a risk.
Arreola has fought and beat a couple of the rated prospects in Witherspoon Garcia and Walker. Povetkin has beaten Chambers, Donald. and next up is Estrada.

Problem is, these guys won't take Haye on as they are already sitting on a Title Shot in the near future.

[Dioufy]

Obviously another 'warm-up' against somebody who replicates Wlad's style would be a good thing before a fight with the big Ukrainian. I know this will get mocked, but if Audley beat Rogan then I would've been calling for that fight. It would've been an ideal test.

[MightyWarrior]

No it'd be madness to pass on a shot at the big one, when you're as vunerable as Haye, you've got to take your chances, especially with that jackpot punch he's got in either hand.

It's air brushed out, but the fact is that even Barrett hurt and put Haye over with a punch that hardly anyone noticed - even glancing punches could derail the Haye express at HW.

He'll never get a better chance than taking on a vunerable Wlad this summer.

[lefthook82]

he shouldnt pass up on a shot like this but his lack of heavyweight experience will tell as Vlad will smack him up imo

[Herol]

Obviously another 'warm-up' against somebody who replicates Wlad's style would be a good thing before a fight with the big Ukrainian. I know this will get mocked, but if Audley beat Rogan then I would've been calling for that fight. It would've been an ideal test.

I think alot of people, myself included, would enjoy seeing Haye beat Audley, but the guy's done nothing to deserve a fight against the top contender.

[yiddo14]

It would be nice Ian, but I have my doubts.
Arreola is one of the names mentioned as WLads next fight and Povetkin is already a mandatory. Estrada is a decent stay busy fight but Povetkin has zero chance of losing that fight. One thing noticeable in Povetkins opponents is their relative lack of power...Haye is the complete opposite!

I would love to see both fights of course, and if Haye doesn't land a shot this Summer then it would be great to see him in against one of these two.
For what it's worth, Haye smokes Arreola in 4-5 rounds but I feel and have always felt that Povetkin would beat Haye. Small(ish)pressure fighter who would be stronger, set a high pace and has a touch of quality too. Haye struggles when up against these types of fighters.