BoxRec

Or am I just underrating him? I never saw the appeal.

Is he a future IBHOF member ?

Overrated by who ? The general public ?

CaptainSpacerod wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:00 Overrated by who ? The general public ?

Yeah, and the boxing community I guess?

I think he’s maybe underrated by the general public

They may well have forgotten his achievements at cruiser and will be more aware of the toegate incident with Wlad and the Bellew defeats both of which cast him in an unfairly negative light imo

I’m more general public than boxing community but I’d say he was pretty well respected inside boxing, certainly some acquaintances I’ve spoken to down the years rate him highly

Who's like the consensus Top 10 British fighters, and who's the 1st name that makes you scratch your head and wonder if he belongs?

gilgamesh wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:41 Who's like the consensus Top 10 British fighters, and who's the 1st name that makes you scratch your head and wonder if he belongs?

Who, me?

I don't know excactly, Haye might be in the top ten but I still consider him overrated, stylewise

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:53

gilgamesh wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:41 Who's like the consensus Top 10 British fighters, and who's the 1st name that makes you scratch your head and wonder if he belongs?

Who, me?

Anybody that could answer the question. I'm not picky.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 22:09

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:53

gilgamesh wrote: ↑20 Feb 2026, 21:41 Who's like the consensus Top 10 British fighters, and who's the 1st name that makes you scratch your head and wonder if he belongs?

Who, me?

Anybody that could answer the question. I'm not picky.

Na. Not overrated for me.

I don't think, that he's overrated. His Cruiserweight achievements were the biggest in his era and among the top ones in the history. In the Heavyweight division he has finally taken away the WBA belt out of the protected cherry picking circus and went for the unification.

Personally I think the boxing community have always been quick to recognise Haye’s shortcomings, ever since he got through the Lolenga Mock fight by the skin of his teeth.

The wider public saw him lose to Thompson on the Beeb, then later versus Klitschko in a massive fight, finishing off with the two miserable losses to Bellew. I can’t imagine Haye is overrated by many.

What happened to Carl Thompson by the way? Did he just retire?

A fringe top 5 cruiserweight of all time (the past 10 years of cruiserweights have been pretty good and have likely knocked him down a few places) and a good, but not great, heavyweight title challenger/single belt holder with respectable wins over Valuev, Ruiz and that KO over Chisora but these were no hall of fame wins. Didn't have the competition at Cruiserweight that Usyk faced and didn't have a long enough run at heavyweight to build a comprehensive record against solid heavies but maybe he could have based on his talent but he also had clear limitations. Think that's where most would have him and it's about right.

Losing to Wlad in 2011 is nothing to be embarrassed about, it was his excuse that was embarrassing. Losing to Bellew when his body was absolutely shot is more damaging from a career perspective but it was obviously a cash grab when he had no right to be in the ring anymore.

Another one who's had a beating conveniently forgotten when judging him (Thompson). The Wlad fight he let everyone down after giving it all the talk, Mock he looked shocking against and the fight where he threw five punches a round to prove he could go the distance. The Dave years, the theft of fans money v Bellew, bringing the Maltese in because he's banned for glassing someone at a press conference.... Still, he had a very good win against Mormeck and did the job on Valuev (more negative than Fury v Wlad and at least two levels down).

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 03:10 What happened to Carl Thompson by the way? Did he just retire?

He retired over 20 years ago, he was in his 40s back then.

Haye was decent, his main issue was he was injury prone,

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:07

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 03:10 What happened to Carl Thompson by the way? Did he just retire?

He retired over 20 years ago, he was in his 40s back then.

He knocked out David Haye in his forties? Damn! I never saw him fight.

I think he’s actually underrated.

Medalled at the World’s, an exceptional cruiserweight, carried his power up to heavyweight and became a world champ.

A handful for anyone.

He came through same time as Froch, reached similar levels, but not regarded in the same terms.

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:31

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:07

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 03:10 What happened to Carl Thompson by the way? Did he just retire?

He retired over 20 years ago, he was in his 40s back then.

He knocked out David Haye in his forties? Damn! I never saw him fight.

Never seen him? He’s worth a watch, big puncher. His fights with Eubank worth a watch too

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:06

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:31

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:07

He retired over 20 years ago, he was in his 40s back then.

He knocked out David Haye in his forties? Damn! I never saw him fight.

Never seen him? He’s worth a watch, big puncher. His fights with Eubank worth a watch too

I missed that era of the British boxing scene. How many weightclasses he went through througout his career?

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:11

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:06

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 05:31
He knocked out David Haye in his forties? Damn! I never saw him fight.

Never seen him? He’s worth a watch, big puncher. His fights with Eubank worth a watch too

I missed that era of the British boxing scene. How many weightclasses he went through througout his career?

Only cruiserweight as far as I can remember, Eubank bulked up to fight him

I mean I did see the Haye bout. Was "british stoppage" a thing back then? If it was Haye might have nicked that one... Thompson seemed tough!

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:20

Sweet Dick Willie wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:11

Controversial wrote: ↑21 Feb 2026, 06:06

Never seen him? He’s worth a watch, big puncher. His fights with Eubank worth a watch too

I missed that era of the British boxing scene. How many weightclasses he went through througout his career?

Only cruiserweight as far as I can remember, Eubank bulked up to fight him

Ah I see, thanks!