David Haye what next ???

[Crease]

How was Vlad exposed Crease? Haye landed about two big right-hands in 12 rounds, neither of which put him any kind of serious trouble.

You are failing to mention that Haye lounged forward in the opening rounds and landed his heavy right on Wlad a few times... One of which cut the bridge of Wlad's nose. The other gashed his right cheek.
Haye was inflciting damage when he was connecting... But as you say, he was still losing the rounds, because he was'nt doing enough and Wlad dictated the pace, so the judges were always gonna socre the rounds 10-9 in his favour.

If anyone was exposed it was Haye, who ate jabs all night and failed to display the 'go out on your shield' mindset that he'd proclaimed before the fight.

You aren't giving Haye enough credit. His head-movement was reasonably good the first half of the fight, he was making Klitchsko miss the majority of his jabs.
So let's not exhaggerate here, with all this talk of "eating jabs all night".

As for the ref, Haye was falling to the floor the second Vlad brushed him at times, not to mention the fact he was already unbalanced from lunging in.

Well the ref did Haye no favours. It wasn'ta knockout, and the ref did allow Klitchsko away with leaning and pushing Haye down.

[Deserter]

You aren't giving Haye enough credit. His head-movement was reasonably good the first half of the fight, he was making Klitchsko miss the majority of his jabs.
So let's not exhaggerate here, with all this talk of "eating jabs all night".

As for the ref, Haye was falling to the floor the second Vlad brushed him at times, not to mention the fact he was already unbalanced from lunging in.

Well the ref did Haye no favours. It wasn'ta knockout, and the ref did allow Klitchsko away with leaning and pushing Haye down.

Haye's head movement was good on occasion, but it's far easier to concentrate on defence when you're not throwing yourself Nonetheless, look at the connection percentages and they back up the story of the fight, which is that Haye was frequently eating a jab - he even admitted it himself in the post-fight interview when he said it was a deliberate tactic.
As for the ref, couldn't agree more that it wasn't a knockdown, but he did take a point away from Vlad and Haye was going to the floor ridiculously easily at times. Not to mention his constant gesturing to the ref about supposed infringements during the action.

[leforge]

Retirement can't see him going on!

[Crease]

Guys, with respect I think most of us are being too-critical of David Haye because we are disappointed with the result.

Lets not kid ourselves here, we all knew that this was going to be a tough fight for David Haye. Okay, he didn't get hte job done tonight and if he had've it would have really spiced up the Heavyweight division.

But lets not be too crticial here. He lost, and that is the ultimate blow of all.

[nobby_nobbins]

Booth seemed adamant Haye should retire in October. It was also interesting to hear Booth referring to Haye as a cruiserweight, ie not a legitimate heavyweight.

[Deserter]

Guys, with respect I think most of us are being too-critical of David Haye because we are disappointed with the result.

Lets not kid ourselves here, we all knew that this was going to be a tough fight for David Haye. Okay, he didn't get hte job done tonight and if he had've it would have really spiced up the Heavyweight division.

But lets not be too crticial here. He lost, and that is the ultimate blow of all.

Fair enough Crease, I hear what you're saying, but try looking at it from a different perspective - if Haye was Russian or American and put in a similar performance, we'd all be on here saying it was a typical Vlad opponent who was looking to survive rather than win and would be criticising the following:
Too few punches a round
Constantly looking to the ref
Going to the floor too easily
And then that toe...

Whichever way you cut it, Haye talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. That's something he'll have to live with and if the toe excuse helps him deal with that mentally that's his perogative. I'll never forget the great fights he's given us and the heart he showed against Mormeck etc, but he went out like a sucker tonight and we shouldn't gloss over that.

[TheCobra]

I only really see meaning and mileage in him fighting Vitali in some sort of redemption fight. if he loses to Vitali it's good night, if he beats Vitali then he can rematch Wlad. Apart from that any other fight will just be a massive step down in earnings and people caring.

[charlieb]

He should retire, the momentum's gone.

His post-fight interview painted a man in denial, and unlikely to follow through on his promise to jack it all in. I think Booth sensed that and was quick to restate the plan to retire.

The momentum of a win over Wlad was essential for challenging Vitali. Making that fight now would be asking for trouble. I'm sure if you asked Ricky Hatton if the money he made as a result of the Pacquiao fight was worth it, the answer would be a resounding 'fu*k no!'.

Haye went 12 hard rounds with Wlad, took a couple of big shots and had his moments, retiring on that note isn't so bad.

Yes, he has to deal with the fallout of his sh*t-talking, but that's still nowhere near as painful a proposition as calling it quits knowing that the freshest memory of you in the world's eye is being flat on your back, legs stiffened with a blitzed glaze over your eyes. Fighting Vitali is asking for pain inside the ring and a lifetime of it outside of the ring. He should retire.

With all of that said, to play devil's advocate, if his toe injury was a genuine factor and he felt that clearly enough to convince himself that it altered the course of the fight, then I could understand him wanting another crack at glory. If that's the case, he'd need to take some warm-up fights that get him back into contention and restore his confidence. That in itself would bring massive risk as Haye's always going to be an accident waiting to happen with his guard.

As a fan from the start, I know that Haye's more than the sum of one losing effort against a much heavier champion who'd been dominant for a generation. Only the most blinkered would have viewed it as anything but a huge ask for Haye.

I hope Haye calls it quits, but I think he's a fighter at heart and it'll be too tough of a pill to swallow. Boxing's littered with unhappy endings, fighters in recession who were once at the top of the game and can't let it go. I hope Haye's smarter than that.

Hopefully the image of his cruiserweight rival Adamek being battered silly by Vitali will bring some comfort, and incentive to leave it alone.

[leforge]

If Vitali and Wlad are out the picture the i could only see a fight with TYSON FURY in October if he beats Chisora later this month as that would be the only fight that could sell some PPV's in Britain.

Chisora going to win this. price is the best heavy under Haye in UK!

[Deserter]

He should retire, the momentum's gone.

His post-fight interview painted a man in denial, and unlikely to follow through on his promise to jack it all in. I think Booth sensed that and was quick to restate the plan to retire.

The momentum of a win over Wlad was essential for challenging Vitali. Making that fight now would be asking for trouble. I'm sure if you asked Ricky Hatton if the money he made as a result of the Pacquiao fight was worth it, the answer would be a resounding 'fu*k no!'.

Haye went 12 hard rounds with Wlad, took a couple of big shots and had his moments, retiring on that note isn't so bad.

Yes, he has to deal with the fallout of his sh*t-talking, but that's still nowhere near as painful a proposition as calling it quits knowing that the freshest memory of you in the world's eye is being flat on your back, legs stiffened with a blitzed glaze over your eyes. Fighting Vitali is asking for pain inside the ring and a lifetime of it outside of the ring. He should retire.

With all of that said, to play devil's advocate, if his toe injury was a genuine factor and he felt that clearly enough to convince himself that it altered the course of the fight, then I could understand him wanting another crack at glory. If that's the case, he'd need to take some warm-up fights that get him back into contention and restore his confidence. That in itself would bring massive risk as Haye's always going to be an accident waiting to happen with his guard.

As a fan from the start, I know that Haye's more than the sum of one losing effort against a much heavier champion who'd been dominant for a generation. Only the most blinkered would have viewed it as anything but a huge ask for Haye.

I hope Haye calls it quits, but I think he's a fighter at heart and it'll be too tough of a pill to swallow. Boxing's littered with unhappy endings, fighters in recession who were once at the top of the game and can't let it go. I hope Haye's smarter than that.

Hopefully the image of his cruiserweight rival Adamek being battered silly by Vitali will bring some comfort, and incentive to leave it alone.

Excellent post.

[states]

Yep, very well said Charlie.

Haye can probably still beat most of the heavyweights out there, but once you've built yourself up to beat the best of them, and fallen badly short, is it really worth it? Financially it may be, but this was Haye's shot at the top. Hatton is a great comparison. Losing to Pacquiao was no disgrace, and I do think Hatton could have come back and beaten some of the names at 140lb's, but it would have all seemed a little empty.

[Giancarlo]

had haye gone for gold he'd probably got banged out. he survived in there tonight.he will retire unless he gets another mega fight in a return, or a bout with vitali. maybe his toe can justify it. regardless he can walk away with his head held high that he never got stopped

Return fight?

Bout with Vitali?

Head held high?

Crikey, it don't take much to satisfy you.

I'd like to see Haye earn another huge payday cos he did nothing tonight to keep himself in line for one.

[Giancarlo]

I think that you are being too overl-critical of Haye tonight. Tonight's fight if anything highlighted the fact that Wlad can be exposed and that the refs don't mind him leaning on his opoonents.

As for Haye? I take it that the Vitali fight is off-the-cards now... Maybe a showdown wiht the winner of Chisora/Fury?

Or maybe a home finale against Chagaev or Arreola.

first he will be saying bye bye to all of his celebrity mates and hangers on who have been giving him a false sense of status. he then needs to quit this i'm quitting in october bullsheet - like we give a fck - fcking quit then u mug, like u did vs wlad. he talked a lot of smack and couldnt follow it up, thats a major league embarrassment for anybody and a proper piss take. i let my little lad stay up to watch that, prob put him off boxing for life - (like when he was put off sheffield united for life after i took him to his first away match and we dint have 1 shot on target. )

when u look at it in both of his biggest fights he has fought like a btch after talking a load of smack - vs valuev and now wlad..he needs to sht the fck up and either walk the walk of fckoff to bit parts on Holby City..

HIS TOE WAS HURTING, GIVE HIM A BREAK, IT WAS THE LITTLE TOE AND THEY HURT MORE THAN ANY OTHER TOE.
I HOPE DAVID WILL BE OK, ITS A CAREER THREATENING INJURY

It's terrible when a great fighter is struck down in his prime.

I wonder if the FIST organisation will be able to help the poor fella.

[los2]

retirment due to horrific injury.... disability allowance and housing benefit should be a toe-in

[nh1]

Lots of these comments speak of frustration.

More constructively, David should go back down to cruiserweight. He's fully capable of destroying all comers at that weight.

He would be able to return to his entertaining style of fighting.

He would give us some thrilling performances and pick up some of the baubles he previously owned.

He could then go out on a high and on his terms.

When politicians talk about their 'legacy', I groan. But I have more sympathy in the case of boxers.

If David retires now, history will not be kind to him. There are many Americans, for instance, who don't appreciate what he did at cruiserwight, being unfamiliar with his performances at that weight. They've only seen a mouthy heavyweight wannabe who fights negatively.

If he moves back down to cruiserweight and destroys the 2 or 3 leading contenders (Huck, Cunningham, Adamek, if he can be persauded to move back down, too), history will look upon him far more generously as someone who had the balls to try the heavier weight, realized he couldn't cut it, and so moved back down to the weight where he had no equal.

[hurlock]

had haye gone for gold he'd probably got banged out. he survived in there tonight.he will retire unless he gets another mega fight in a return, or a bout with vitali. maybe his toe can justify it. regardless he can walk away with his head held high that he never got stopped

Return fight?he aint going to want to rebuild

Bout with Vitali?they want haye ko'd

Head held high?he lasted the course i thought he'd of got done within 5rds

Crikey, it don't take much to satisfy you.i never ought into this fight, just angerd at how people were reiterating hayes comments.

I'd like to see Haye earn another huge payday cos he did nothing tonight to keep himself in line for one.

the boy came,he saw, he hustled & left with sackfulls of cash!!dont hate the player

[rapid2]

What Charlie said would make sense if he was fornicating 40! bloody hell.

[Syntax Error]

If he is serious about his career, then he needs to go after Povetkin, then go for a rematch with Wladimir, or even a shot at Vitali.

Saying that, he doesn't really stand a chance with Wladimir again & probably stands even less chance against Vitali.

[Spiker]

Go back to cruiserweight or risk just being a contender for years!

[milpool]

David Haye, what next?

Well I reckon a rematch in London is what is likely to happen. There isn't a serious challenger to Wlad's titles at the moment and Haye really needs to get people back on his side and the only way to do that is to go 'toe to toe' with Wlad again. He would get far more respect for taking it to Wlad a second time round, giving him some genuine problems and roughing him up...even if it were to end in defeat again. Chris Eubank gained a lot of respect by being stopped by Carl Thompson because people appreciated that he gave it a real go.

Failing that maybe he should come out and publically state that he's knocking his retirement plans on the head and seeking redemption. He could then meet a legit contender who is very beatable, Chris Arreola has been mentioned on here, put in a positive performance and then maybe go for Wlad again next summer.

If he were to disappear from the scene now he would go without many people's blessing and would always be remembered for not being able to walk the walk.

[Syntax Error]

Audley II

Audley might actually throw TWO punches in a rematch!

[mkirkhope]

If I was Haye, the fact that Wlad is saying he's just another standard opponent who talks the talk but doesn't perform would really fire me up and I'd want to prove him wrong. I can see Haye just retirning though. If he keeps going he needs to cut out all the publishing magazines about himself etc and just get the head down and work harder than ever in the gym.