I’ve been a boxing fan for a long time. As a 28-year-old I was lucky enough to grow up in an era when Britain had some of the very finest fighters on the planet, and it just so happened that several of them were in the same weight division and shared the ring on more than one occasion.
The days of watching Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and my favourite Nigel Benn standing toe-to-toe will live long in the memory.
They were stars. Primarily because boxing was, at that time, mainly available to all on free-to-air TV through the efforts of Frank Warren’s Sports Network and Barry Hearn’s Matchroom Sport having deals with ITV to screen big fights.
But they were also universally popular because they were warriors. When the chips were down, they bit down hard on their mouth guard and kept on fighting.
Luckily, Britain has two fighters of a similar ilk right now. Firstly Carl Froch, a man who has a granite chin and balls of steel, and David Haye.
Yes, David Haye. A man who is as well known by boxing fans as he is by those who watch TOWIE. He’s a publicists dream. Tall, dark, handsome with chiselled abs and a barbed tongue. He does – and says – whatever it takes to cause commotion that mean people tune in to watch him fight.
In the week when he announced his return to the ring, many were dismissive. He’s been called anything from a busted flush to chicken, but they couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reality is that David, thanks to being commercially attractive and savvy, as well as a bloody good fighter; has earned enough to never have to think about boxing again. Because of that, following defeat to Wladimir Klitschko back in 2011, there was nowhere for him to go.
What would be the point in a man who is used to dining at the top table tucking in on a park bench?
What many casual fans, or non-boxing fans, will fail to understand is how protective the Klitschko brothers are of their titles. Take a look at their record and its a succession of old, or out of shape, or out of their league fighters who turn up to get knocked over for a decent pay day.
Sure, when the Hayemaker got his chance against Wladimir he didn’t produce the goods to the extent that he would have liked to, and I’m certain nobody would be more annoyed at that that him.
Following that fight, David was derided in the media for revealing that a couple of weeks prior to the biggest night of his career, he had broken the little toe on his right foot.
Whether you place any credibility on the injury or not, Haye was undeniably injured. Whether he should have mentioned it afterwards or not is a matter for debate, but he was in a no-win situation. If the injury was genuinely bothering him then the only option available other than carry on regardless was pulling out of the fight, and he would have been absolutely slaughtered by the press for that.
As it happened, he fought Wladimir, and although was clearly beaten over twelve rounds, there were a couple of occasions when he genuinely threatened Klitschko. His efforts in the twelfth and final round were commendable.
In the post-fight press conference, if he’s asked about any injuries, what is he meant to say? It’s hardly an excuse – the entire viewing audience saw him beaten fair and square by Wladimir, and even David wouldn’t disagree with that.
Haye is fast as lightning and as strong as an Ox. He has the tools required to dominate an admittedly sub-par heavyweight division. He also has a history of taking on risky fights to further advance his career.
This is a man who, while fighting at cruiserweight travelled to the home ground of champion Jean Marc Mormeck and got up off the canvas to knock him out.
He also ventured to Germany to wrestle the WBA heavyweight championship from Russian giant Nikolay Valuev – a man who both Klitschko brothers avoided for years, as he was the only person anywhere near their level with the height, reach and awkwardness to cause a problem.
He made his first comeback last year when, following a brawl in Munich after the Vitali Klitschko v Dereck Chisora fight, David turned up to call out Vitali at the post fight press conference.
Berndt Boente, the Klitschko’s manager, suggested Chisora and Haye resolve their differences in the ring, and the winner could face the older brother.
Haye went onto impressively dispatch Chisora in five rounds, somewhat overshadowing Vitali’s hard fought unanimous points decision. Guess what? No offer of a fight followed.
Most people coming back to the ring after having two fights in two years would take a tune up fight, and admittedly I’m writing this probably a week or so before Haye’s next opponent is announced; but at last week’s press conference to announce the comeback, trainer Adam Booth confirmed there are five names in the frame. All ranked in the top 15 in the world with various sanctioning bodies, four undefeated and none British.
By the end of the year David Haye WILL be nicely in position to force the hand of messrs Klitschko, mark my words.
I can see an eventual rematch between Wladimir and David at the back end of next year, and I will be backing the Hayemaker to bring home the belts. Allied with his class in the ring he also has a valuable asset in trainer/manager Adam Booth, one of the finest tacticians in world boxing.
I have no doubt that the memory of his last shot at Wladimir combined with an Adam Booth gameplan will see David Haye become heavyweight champion of the world once more. I’m convinced of it.
There ain’t toe stopping him this time.
Mark McBurney's Blog 