BoxRec

Cas wrote:Bellew was fortunate Haye hurt his Achilles.

Still, Bellew was in the fight up until the injury still. Many expected Haye to blast him in under three rounds.

It was clear Haye is no longer the force he once was. He's still quick, and explosive, good reflexes, but to injury prone. He looked reckless and his timing was off, signs of an aging fighter.

Take nothing away from Bellew. He done the job and finished Haye in emphatic fashion in the 11th.

Maybe the last of Haye.

I disagree with one point. Haye post layoff is really slow. His reflexes are still good but he seems a shadow of the fighter he was.

Haye looked lightning fast in his 2 previous fights... You're going to look terrible if your Achilles tendon is screwed.. You can't push off or move.

I think Haye is finished.
He's too old & too injury prone to come back from this latest disaster. Especially with it being an Achilles injury, which is one of the worst injuries for an athlete to suffer & one of those that takes the longest to rehab. It's a career ender in many cases.

He didn't knock him out, Daffy his corner threw the towel in the ring, I wouldn't have been surprised if, if it went to distance, Daffy would have walked away with the victory anyway.

The injury has given Haye an 'out' & a reason to think he should continue.

There's a reason why Haye's comeback opposition has been beyond embarrassing & he thought Bellew would be easy meat for big money, but alas not.

Haye is finished as a top-line HW & he knows it.

He was hoping to con his way to a big money title shot & hope for the best once in the ring.

Now he has had this injury, he will convince himself that he can return, but I don't think so, because if he was anything like he was, Bellow would not have been there in round 6 when his Achilles eventually popped.

Fair play to him for fighting on, but many other fighters would have done the same, so he isn't unique.

I'm also hoping that Bellow doesn't get delusions of grandeur, as he's not even the best CW, let alone good enough to mix it with the best HWs.

sweetviolenturge wrote:I think Haye is finished.
He's too old & too injury prone to come back from this latest disaster. Especially with it being an Achilles injury, which is one of the worst injuries for an athlete to suffer & one of those that takes the longest to rehab. It's a career ender in many cases.

Spot on.

It will be 2018 by the time he is fit enough to fight again & he will be pushing 38.

The HW division is leaving him behind.

Haye wasn't going to do nothing last night

He was unable to do anything except swing like a dole merchant fighting over a can of Stella from the opener

What an embarrassment

Cas wrote:Bellew was fortunate Haye hurt his Achilles.

Still, Bellew was in the fight up until the injury still. Many expected Haye to blast him in under three rounds.

It was clear Haye is no longer the force he once was. He's still quick, and explosive, good reflexes, but to injury prone. He looked reckless and his timing was off, signs of an aging fighter.

Take nothing away from Bellew. He done the job and finished Haye in emphatic fashion in the 11th.

Maybe the last of Haye.

I don't think Achilles injury was good fortune for Bellew, because it's quite clear that Haye is a greatly dimished force, because in his heyday, Bellew would not have heard the bell for the 6th round.

Bellew told us all that Haye was a four round fighter these days & prepared accordingly.

Haye thought it would be an easy night's work & he thought it was still 2010 & that's was his mistake.

Once Bellew got past 4, it was going to be his fight, Achilles or not.

Kalan wrote:Haye looked lightning fast in his 2 previous fights... You're going to look terrible if your Achilles tendon is screwed.. You can't push off or move.

His Achilles didn't go until the 6th round though. Haye looked awful I thought before the injury, his timing was horrendous, missed with loads of punches and was just looking to land a big haymaker. Even when he did land Bellew soaked them up. He is finished i think.

Syntax Error wrote:

Cas wrote:Bellew was fortunate Haye hurt his Achilles.

Still, Bellew was in the fight up until the injury still. Many expected Haye to blast him in under three rounds.

It was clear Haye is no longer the force he once was. He's still quick, and explosive, good reflexes, but to injury prone. He looked reckless and his timing was off, signs of an aging fighter.

Take nothing away from Bellew. He done the job and finished Haye in emphatic fashion in the 11th.

Maybe the last of Haye.

I don't think Achilles injury was good fortune for Bellew, because it's quite clear that Haye is a greatly dimished force, because in his heyday, Bellew would not have heard the bell for the 6th round.

Bellew told us all that Haye was a four round fighter these days & prepared accordingly.

Haye thought it would be an easy night's work & he thought it was still 2010 & that's was his mistake.

Once Bellew got past 4, it was going to be his fight, Achilles or not.

Haye was in too good of shape to think "it would be an easy night's work." He was (obviously) injured from the beginning. Therefore, he knew that it was necessary for him to get Bellew out of there.

You can tell by the way he moved in the ring and the way that he was unable to sit on the right hand that he was injured. Yet, he showed up and gave it a go even after more severely rupturing or severing his achilles. That showed rare courage.

Anyone wagering on this fight should have been concerned enough to hedge based on the injury news earlier in the week. Haye has been prone to injury and the fact that it was reported the way it was should have been a giant red flag.

The fight was competitive up until the 6th . .Haye was ahead but Bellew stunned him with a few counter punches and likely surprised him with his quickness and defensive ability, especially against the ropes.

Haye just showed, injury or not, that he's always been at finesse fighter. He has always punched wide and didn't set up his punches enough or show much in terms of angles. Most opponents he could take out with his "sniper" style but he has never fought well as the aggressor vs opponents who were not intimidated by his athleticism and that's why he stunk out the joint vs Valuev and Wlad. Bellew smartly made Haye come to him and Haye got caught with the incoming.