BoxRec

A shadow of his former self. So slow. Credit to Bellew, but he must have seen every punch. No doubt Haye was injured, his Achilles was fucked before the fight but since the Fury and Klitschko pull outs he didn't really have a choice in pulling out.

Full credit to Haye for keeping going, it was really brave but his trainer should've pulled him out. He couldn't throw with any power.

I'm just shocked at how slow Haye was. He's surely done now.

I don't think he was bad. I had him ahead before his ankle gave away. Also Bellew was missing a lot of power shots, even after round 6. Wasn't the best fight. Respect to Haye, he didn't want to quit. He started doind well again after round 9.

Ruthless-RKO wrote:I don't think he was bad. I had him ahead before his ankle gave away. Also Bellew was missing a lot of power shots, even after round 6. Wasn't the best fight. Respect to Haye, he didn't want to quit. He started doind well again after round 9.

I give Haye full credit for carrying on. He's certainly redeemed himself after blaming his toe. However, if you compare him pre-lay off, Chisora to his last three fights. He's noticeably slower and his sharpness his completely abondoned him. I agree, he was beating Bellew pre his Achilles going, but the old Haye wouldve wiped the floor with him.

He looked dreadful by his usual standards, though I still thought he was winning comfortably.

Very wild and off balance, and it was immediately clear that he wasnt on form.

crusader wrote:He looked dreadful by his usual standards, though I still thought he was winning comfortably.

Very wild and off balance, and it was immediately clear that he wasnt on form.

I agree, but if you look at his come back fights, he telegraphs his punches now. Speed and power (plus reflexes) were his best assests. Age and with his case injuries have caught up with him.

I have no doubt he was injured going into the fight and that's why he tried to get rid of Bellew early.

I give him full credit though for lasting 5 rounds as a sitting duck and throwing shots when he must of been in blinding pain.

..throwing wild hayemakers, missing too much also in the first 5 rounds..slightly winning a couple of rounds ...his power never really bothered Bellew..shadow of his former self..

I am NOT a Haye fan and was elated to read about his loss as it was not televised where i'm at in the states. Thanks to the link provided above, I was able to watch the fight after. David Haye's performance was heroic as hell. I was looking forward to seeing him get a beating but I found myself rooting for him half way. Unless Haye is the greatest actor in the world and he's not really hurt, you have to be amazed at him almost finishing that fight in that condition. If that's really a torn achilles then that's incredible.

Haye's two "sensational comeback fights" were staged fake fights, "sports entertainment", like wrestling. This one was real. I hope we have finally heard the last from him.

Well he was edging a small cruiserweight who at best is pretty decent, and who maybe broke his hand early. I'd be shocked if he can even get through another proper camp and fight without an injury too.

BitPlayer wrote:Well he was edging a small cruiserweight who at best is pretty decent, and who maybe broke his hand early. I'd be shocked if he can even get through another proper camp and fight without an injury too.

..I'll agree with it considering Haye is injury prone and is not getting any younger..

Haye's speed was a shell of itself before the injury. He likely would have won with no injury against Bellew but Haye's best days are behind him. Whether its aging or lifestyle I do not know, probably a combo of the two.

x2x wrote:Haye's two "sensational comeback fights" were staged fake fights, "sports entertainment", like wrestling. This one was real. I hope we have finally heard the last from him.

Staged? I hate to be the one to break the obvious to you, but DeMori and Gjergjaj just aren't very good.

Tony1244 wrote:
Staged? I hate to be the one to break the obvious to you, but DeMori and Gjergjaj just aren't very good.

Good enough to have taken some better acting lessons.

Belles did have the faster hands.

x2x wrote:Haye's two "sensational comeback fights" were staged fake fights, "sports entertainment", like wrestling. This one was real. I hope we have finally heard the last from him.

Spot on.

It's no coincidence that he selected a waxwork dummy followed by a car crash dummy for his first 2 opponents back.

He knew full well that he didn't have it anymore: in fact, like many of us (me included), he probably thought Bellew was an easy payday, hence why the fight got made so quickly.

Haye never had any intention of testing himself before a potential title shot.

There can be no doubting his courage, but there's no need to keep trying to prove how brave he is, especially when he no longer has the skillset to be a top of the line HW anymore.

He looks fantastic, but he's an empty vessel.

Stick to bodybuilding, David; far less risky.

x2x wrote:

Tony1244 wrote:
Staged? I hate to be the one to break the obvious to you, but DeMori and Gjergjaj just aren't very good.

Good enough to have taken some better acting lessons.

DeMori has also been knocked out in round one by a guy 15-19. Gjergjaj struggled against guys not in the top 500. You're better argument would be why wasn't Haye fighting better people? No need to fix fights against these people. It would be like them having to fix a fight against me. No need.

For me.... I don't know if Haye looked bad because of the inactivity and piss poor tune ups.... or he could have looked that way because he completely underestimated, overlooked Bellew and didn't train properly.... or because he was facing a man (Bellew) who had Cruiserweight speed himself and that minimalized advantages Haye posesses.... It's a whole different ballgame fighting taller men, than fighting men your own height eye to eye.... from round one through five Haye seemed great, though it was obvious to everyone that he was slower (the rights and lefts were missing) and he was more flat footed than usual, though he did have spring in his steps until the sixth round (and onwards). How to I rate the performance from him? Hard to say. He certainly wasn't the guy who obliterated John Ruiz, but he wasn't some bum either. From the waist up, Haye was still one of the most dangerous men in the world. The fight was an A+ contest (far as I'm concerned), and Bellew looked as good as he did against Flores so it's an A+ for him as well... but for Haye.... He was C+ or B- level last night. Not taking anything away from Bellew, I think he could have won it even if Haye's leg didn't give out, the tide was beginning to turn in his favor anyways: the inactivity, the age, the poor tune ups, it worked against Haye every bit as much as the leg.

Age [old]

it had its moment of surprise but really the quality of this fight was shockingly bad.

I especially liked seeing Tony Bellew at the press conference warning the press that he wuldnt stay for long because his hand was injured...and then immediately preceded to play with his moble phone using both hands

Some of these comments are strange. Haye was winning the fight comfortably before getting hurt. What did you expect from after that fighting on one leg?

diddy wrote:Some of these comments are strange. Haye was winning the fight comfortably before getting hurt. What did you expect from after that fighting on one leg?

I agree, had he not come into fight with an injury and it didn't pop, he would've KOd Bellew. I have no doubt about that. My OP was to demonstrate that Haye has dramatically diminished in speed and timing since his return. Pre 2013, Haye would've nailed Bellew in 2 rounds.

I do credit Haye, never been an admirer, for fighting with one leg. Truly amazing, but does show that Bellew shouldn't believe to much in what he has accomplished. I was just shocked at how slow Haye was.

I also hear that Haye has money problems, so perhaps that's why he's returned. Maybe his heart isn't in it and just wanted a few big paydays.

Haye looked just fine in the first half of the fight and was dominating the action like everyone expected. Then he tore his achilles and people are trying to read into how he looked after that? Haye is not shot at all, he got hurt, which he is what he's known for. His skills have not eroded much from I see. His body has betrayed him his whole career, even when in his prime.

diddy wrote:Haye looked just fine in the first half of the fight and was dominating the action like everyone expected. Then he tore his achilles and people are trying to read into how he looked after that? Haye is not shot at all, he got hurt, which he is what he's known for. His skills have not eroded much from I see. His body has betrayed him his whole career, even when in his prime.

Haye had a problem with his leg before the fight which is why he went to see a specialist in Germany. He went into the fight already not at 100% and then became a cripple during the fight.

diddy wrote:Haye looked just fine in the first half of the fight and was dominating the action like everyone expected. Then he tore his achilles and people are trying to read into how he looked after that? Haye is not shot at all, he got hurt, which he is what he's known for. His skills have not eroded much from I see. His body has betrayed him his whole career, even when in his prime.

Haye looked shot to me, in comparison with his pre-retirement.