Harsh lessons for Haye

Who were the people who thought David Haye could beat Klitschko? Were they the same people who thought Manchester United could beat Barcelona in the Champions League Final. For me, this fight was one bag of hype. There was no realistic expectations produced as a result of decent analysis of the boxers, and everyone thought he may have a chance. But there was only one heavyweight in that ring last night. It was a mismatch. Klitschko didn't have to do anything special to win.

Last night's fight was boxing's loss. Everytime there is a major disappointment like that Boxing's credibility slides, again.

Nicely done Ben

I'd left where I was watching the fight pretty much straight after the decision was announced so will have to take your word on it that the injury looked genuine. It would certainly explain why Haye appeared to be off-balance for most of the fight, and I thought his plan of trying to land a solitary home run was at best a strange one.

I couldn't believe the Sky boys who said this was a 'fantastic' fight. Perhaps there was an epic war on a different channel, but considering both men had pledged to knock the other unconscious, this was a really disappointing effort.

For all people used to criticise Joe Calzaghe for pulling out of fights, he never went in the ring with an injury that would stop him doing himself justice. Perhaps in Haye's case this is an instance of boy crying wolf, since many of us wonder if pulling out of the previous fight owed more to Setanta's collapse than it did to a genuine niggle.

David's not gonna want to retire after this, and he might face a longer road back to get in contention than first anticipated. If he doesn't want this to be his defining moment then that plan to retire at 31 is probably going to move back to 32 or 33.

https://outspokenrabbit.blogspot.com/

Haye deserved to lose. A childish gangsta wanna be who feels it's acceptable to say he's going kill his opponent, insult the oppositions family and country and even bring up gang rape as a joke. Disgusting. I always support Brits in any sport but am over the moon this scum lost. Klitschko as an eloquent humanitarian and by far the better boxer deserved it.

Good balanced blog, I enjoyed reading it.

I'm a Haye fan and whilst I'm disappointed at the nature of the fight as much as the result, sometimes you just have to say Klitschko was just the superior fighter and deserved his win. His record speaks for itself. I don't think Haye disgraced himself by any means, he was just outclassed and couldn't find a way through to Klistschko on enough occassions. Like you say, he unified the Cruiserweight devision and can hold his head up high, he's not the first person to make the jump up to the Heavyweight division and not entirely succeed, and won't be the last. Looking back, even winning a Heavyweight title is a pretty credible achievement!

I don't understand why people are labelling a Haye a false prophet and saying he ran his mouth too much. I agree, some of the stuff he came out with was utter tripe and crossed the line, but people forget, he's promoting his fight, he needed to generate interest and sell PPVs, and he succeeded. If every boxing match lived up to it's hype it'd be far and away the greatest sport in the world.

Anyway, bit of a rant there but good work with the blog!

I haven't even properly read this article, I just want to express my sheer joy at the fact that David Haye finally got what he deserved. This is what I like to call a "Prince Naseem Hamed" moment. What genuinely shocked me was that you, the Great British public, along with expert pundits, actually thought this was an even fight.

The sheer lack of respect shown towards Klitschko by Haye, his incessant moaning in the ring (was he on the canvas in every round?) and his pathetic excuses regarding a slight pain in his little toe, made this victory even sweeter and I sincerely hope David Haye retires and we are rid of him. He will be forgotten instantly.

Boxing is now a dying sport, its all about MMA

Hands up, I was wrong....
Thought Haye would be too quick instead of WK too big. Was sure Haye would get to him at some point but he never really looked like he could. Did chin was surprising good though....

are we not allowed to comment on this article? I wrote a fairly lengthy (possibly boring - maybe that's why it's not here?!) response, which doesn't appear to be here!

Excellent stuff again Ben - hit the nail right on the head.

I posted on your 28th June predictions blog to say that this was Hatton vs Mayweather all over again in that the UK media was wildly overhyping a guy who is taking on a vastly superior opponent, and I got laughed at by a few posters.

Klitschko doesn't get the credit he deserves and even today it's "he won because he's a taller guy". Size played a part, but he won because he's a better boxer, and because his speed, footwork and ringcraft are all still underrated.

I've always said that I don't understand why people see Haye as so exciting for the division (the Valuev fight was absolutely painful viewing - as bad as I've seen) and for me last night was yet another sorry episode for boxing.

We had the particularly distasteful remarks from Haye in the buildup to the fight, as well as him acting like a chav ("Check out his Borat voice!!!!!!!"). Then we had him not wanting to engage for 12 rounds. Then we had the toe excuse - with the shoe and sock being hastily removed as soon as Adam Smith walked over to talk to him.

Add to this the behaviour of the 'football crowd' from the UK that seems to attend these nights since the Hatton days (complete with songs about world war 2 and throwing stuff at Wlad whilst he was walking to the ring) and it was just another reason for the general public to laugh at boxing.

If you "can't throw any right hands at all because of my toe" then how did you manage to land a big right hand in the 12th that actually shook Wlad? If you can throw a big right hand when you are desperate (despite the toe) then you could have thrown one in round 1. If you wanted to throw any punches at all that is.

Now we also have the comments from Haye's team that there was basically nothing he could do because he's "just a cruiserweight". That's not what we were told (and told, and told, and told) before the fight - apparently there were all sorts of great plans in place for getting inside the Klitschko jab. At least Booth came out today and said Wlad essentially won every round (I scored it 2 rounds to Haye at best).

Boxing needs to get back to great fights between well-matched guys, otherwise the public eventually become tired of the charades and the sport dies.

I went into this fight thinking Klitsckho win, but with a strong chance for a Haymaker upset somewhere throughout the rounds.

However disappointing the match ended up, I have actually changed my view on Klitsckho, he is a great boxer and if he sets up a few more interesting opponents he might have even won a fan here.

At the end of the day we want to be entertained and listening to him speak before and after the fight, you cannot doubt his character or intelligence.

Haye, the biggest problem is he ran his mouth so much and came up short, which isn't an option. It is a shame because he is damn exciting. Unfortunately he can't bring the excitement to the ring at Heavyweight, but he was an amazing cruserweight!

Yes I thought Haye would win this. I thought it would be a KO victory, with WK having a very good chance of getting a KO himself.

More fool me then!

Haye showed he can take a heavyweight's punches, so the chin issue can be laid to rest.

Very very disappointed with Haye. A stubbed little toe is not a reason but, the pathetic cries of a sore loser.

Silly thing is that this showed nothing about WK that we did not already know. He is average, the game plan to beat him is obvious - although probably easier for a southpaw to implement - so the question is why did Haye and Booth not realise that and work on it. Haye has excellent movement for a HW, and whilst WK jab was excellent last night it was, as always slow at getting back to a proper guard position. He still paws too much with the jab.

Problem now is that Haye was the last credible opponent in the HW division. There is nothing else out there worthy of a fight. Thank goodness for Manny and the SMW division

Haye has been shown to be precisely what he is - a conceited, arrogant, loud-mouth whose enormous, overblown ego cannot bring itself to accept that he was comprehensively defeated by a better, more powerful opponent. He might have earned a semblance of respect had he acknowledged this after his routing but true to form and his disagreeable personality has chosen to hide behind a smokescreen of alleged injuries to try to mask what is obvious to everyone watching that he as simply outclassed. A case of no class in or outside of the ring.

At the end of the day broken toe is absolutely no excuse. He allowed big Dr Steelhammer to just swat him away every time. Double the hits compared to Haye on similar attempts tells its own story.
Everyone got carried away after Valuev but he was only fighting Blaster out of Mad Max III. Then Ordinary Harrison. And then a real live heavyweight takes his title away by doing nothing at all.
Haye is a hell of a marketing man, but he ain't no heavyweight.
He is, however, very photogenic and now very rich.
Not a daft lad.

This should go down as Wladimir's defining fight. David Haye is a man who outclassed Valuev, who weighed almost half as much again as him (let that sink in for a second) so comprehensively that he got a points victory in Germany while on the back foot. And while carrying only a slight injury - something he did against Valuev too let's not forget - he was basically given no way into the fight. Just like Wladimir's last dozen or more opponents.

The uncertainty over the slips/pushes were rendered utterly moot.

Haye's legacy will be that he was the man who, in defeat, proved just how good Wladimir is. Not too bad, all told, and if it's his last fight then he's getting out with his faculties intact, a fortune in his bank account, and the distinction of having held a world heavyweight belt. You can't really ask for more than that.

Last nights result was no surprise to everyone outside of Britain. Haye is a fake and built himself up to be something he was not and last night showed just that.
But I might have had some respect for him if he didnt come out with easily the worse excuse I have every heard in sport.

MY BABY TOE! :) what a joke...he danced his way into the ring, never once hobbled while in the ring and as soon as he lost he limped his way out of the ring.
This tells us exactly who David Haye is...a soar loser and a bad sports man.

We all know if you bet beat and outclassed by someone who is on another level to you, you admit defeat graciously and you say congrats to the opposition.

Haye now looks like a fool and a fake as he didnt even come close to winning after all his talk pre match.

I wholeheartedly agree with Antony (5.) on this. Anyone who could think Haye's pre-fight behaviour was excusable has no moral compass, and that so many 'fans' could think this shows just how close to the gutter our society has sunk. Klitchko was dignified under the most extreme provocation, and he was a GOOD BOXER. He is to be admired for this - this is someone to look up to - metaphorically as well as literally.

As for Haye - there is a saying: "A failure is a guy who has made mistakes but is not able to cash in on the experience". He made some big mistakes here - let's see if he learns anything from them.

Giving the excuse of a broken toe only shows what kind of a man Mr Haye is...

Haye's such a great promoter he got me out of bed at 4:30am on a Sunday morning. Now I know... he's only a great promoter.

David Haye should have been praising Wladimir Klitschko before the fight to lull the Klitschko Camp in to thinking David was already losing hope and was an easy picking. Instead he must have scared the Giant Ukrainian into training even harder and as we saw, he was in great shape and boxed skillfully to win the fight.

Well, Haye's swollen toes didn't help his cause, but to be honest, the odds was just too much in the end - the weight, the reach and the ram-rod straight left jabs all conspired with the miserable weather to give David Haye and his supporters an evening to forget. But the never say David, despite the battling against overwhelming odds, stood his ground like a true warrior and fire back in no uncertain terms to last out the twelve rounds.

David, of course, could carry on and test out some young pretenders who fancy their chances against him. But could these crops of non-descript heavies conjure up any interests to sell to the public??...If I was Adam Booth, I'd take on Vitali....but if lessons be learned, stay quiet and let Vitali think he only had to turn up and the fight was his....and on the fight night, kick his 'ed in !!

Surely Haye is just not tall enough to ever dominate this division, or to get close enough to hurt defensively and tactically astute fighters like Klitschko?

Valuev I do not count as a particularly astute or skilled fighter.

MY BABY TOE? this is as low as one can go in sport...to make up a pathetic excuse in an attempt to take away from a superior opponent who worked hard and totally dominated the fight for 12 rounds.

That's lack of respect...and has shown Haye to be what he is...Classless and arrogant!

Haye was worse than useless. Totally predictable. Watch out Wlad, here comes the "Haymaker" again ! Wow, I bet Klitschko was quaking. After all his ignorant and foul posturing, he must be absolutely ashamed of that performance. If his real character is anything like his obnoxious ring persona, I doubt it.

Delightful to see Haye get it handed to him. His obnoxious remarks in the past, about everyone from ring card girls to opponents, render him unsupportable, regardless of nationality.

Klitschko seems graceful, intelligent, and decent. Well done, Dr Steelhammer. Great nickname, too :)

Matt-Stone:

Matt Matt Matt...now you sound like Haye...would you not just admit that Klitschko is a superior fighter and totally outclassed an overrated self hyped fighter and don't blame the loss on "swollen toes , the weight, the reach and the ram-rod straight left jabs!"

That's like saying if Tyson wasn't so strong, fast and ferocious that he wouldn't have been so good.

Please....just admit Haye was overrated as was Hatton and as will be Khan once he fights a proper world champion.

No one in 6 years has stopped Klitschko and thats for a reason.

I lost all respect I had for Haye the moment his immediate reaction was not to congratulate Klitschko, but to complain that he was in fact injured and that he would have won had he been fit. As Klitschko said afterwards, he would have looked much better had he just admitted that he was beaten by the better boxer on the day.

Haye was out boxed when he should never had let it turn into a boxing match. The only boxers that have ever troubled Klitschko are the ones who take the fight to him and don't let him dictate the pace. Haye didn't do that, and lost. Damp squib.

Its amazing how many of the readers on here were tipping Haye to win. Had they never heard of old boxing adages such as "styles make fights", "a good big one always beats a good little one" and "dont believe the hype".

The result was no surprise, anybody who had watched Klitschko develop over the last 6 years knew he would not present Haye with any opportunities. Sky did their normal job of hyping the fight, making it into a 50-50, when it was nothing of the sort. Their intention was to plant a seed of doubt into peoples minds, as if it was a matter of when Haye landed his bombs and picked up the title. The Sky pundits should be ashamed of themselves, misleading vulnerable sports fans like that. I'll always tip a boxer over a puncher.

i wonder what the people who overestimated David Haye have to say now?

I was more impressed with the opening 'Theatre', the London taxi cab and assortment of 'actors', it was so bad it was brilliant.

I was wondering about Haye if he is more talk than actual substance, before the fight. He had beaten Valuev, Ruiz, who were far more credible opponents than Audley Harrison preceding this fight- so you thought "maaaybeeee he has what it takes".

However, he has been avoiding fights against Chagaev and Liakhovich (not money spinning events I suppose) and opted for Harrison- so I did wonder at the same time that he could be more hype than anything else.

The reason I watched this fight, is because this was my only chance to find out what Haye was really all about. It turns out, he is more talk than substance, but I give him more respect than people on this forum will do. He gave it his best shot, Klitschko is more powerful and is the better boxer- it was always impossible to outbox him. Klitschko countered also really well, so Haye, being the smaller fighter could ONLY win by knockout- that knockout punch never came.

I give Haye respect for being in the ring with one of the best, if not the best heavyweight of the decade (ok, Vitali is better), and it was a commendable effort. You were not a fraud, you were just outclassed- it happens

What shocked me last night was Haye's unwillingness to really try and close the gap on his opponent and land some TNT on the inside. He told us to expect something completely different and it's fair to say that's what we got!!

All in all, very disappointing effort from a man who promised so much...

Wladimir will of course point to this fight as one of his best performances - the jab was mightily effective and his control of distance superb. He would appear to have had his legacy tarnished by boxing in a weak division. More than anything, we needed an epic fight last night to show that there was life in heavyweight boxing outside America, and that may be the wasted opportunity - not just for Haye, but for the sport itself.

https://outspokenrabbit.blogspot.com/

Anthony #5

A "Prince Naseem Hamed" moment? That's bit unfair.

Hamed was a legend, he fought all the best fighters he could and won, even against the Americans in the US, with great class. His 'moment' (i.e. his solitary loss) was questionable, there are a lot of suspicions about his opponent, who was also world class anyway.

Haye has been a boxer since he was a kid, he's worked hard and he's stepped up to take on the big boys. He's achieved a lot. His trash talk gets people interested. Sure, it is not classy but it sells. Without the hype there would be no fight.

It's a shame that he couldn't perform on the night and that he brought the toe out as an excuse. When he beat the giant Valuev he loved saying how he had a broken hand fromthe second round, cos it sounded tough. Now a broken toes stops his destiny? I thought this guy would walk through walls to get what he was born to acheieve? It would have been nice to see him humble in defeat but, nevertheless, he's been electric over the last few years and has ignited British boxing.

Maybe now it is time to move the spotlight on to Brook, Cleverly, Kahn and the others.

I honestly wonder what some people were expecting? Haye KO? Kiltschko to fight totally different??
Maybe Haye didn't do enough work but he took some great shots and gave a few great shots which a younger Klitschko couldn't have taken.
But DAMP SQUID not at all, Haye was never gopnna stand toe to toe with a guy with so much advantages, he would have been killed.
Regardless of what Klitschko said that was his hardest fight in a long time, Haye showed excellent footwork and a good chin and a solid punch when he lands.

I'd much prefer a fight like that than watching Bruno get dismantled in 2 rounds etc.

Imagine if it had been DelBoy Chisora he'd a had a tear up and probably KO'd in 5 or under.. Is that what you would rather see?

*squib - bloody phones..

I now look forward to Wladimir Klitschko v Vitali Klitschko to unify all the titles. I would pay for that one.

Very simple, I just hope this is the end of Haye. No sport needs this kind of person, I'm of an age when Ali was the king, and even his antics against some of his opponents wore thin, but Hayes antics are beyond the pale. Never has the phrase empty vessels make the most noise been so apt.

I'm no expert but have always loved HW boxing. I was lulled into thinking Haye had a chance by all his pre fight verbals. But as soon as I saw the weigh in and pre match face to face 'stare off' I had my doubts. Klitschko just seemed to tower over Haye. Not many crusier weights have made a successful transition to the HW division, I can only think of Holyfield in recent times having done so. And Haye is not a Holyfield in a million years. I think Haye should retire now as he planned to do. Shame to go out on a loss, and without the belt, but really he probably should never have stepped up beyond crusier weight. Although the cash he has pocketed as a result will provide some solace I am sure.

Exceptional article by Ben Dirs,substanciates what I was saying on the old 606 boxing boardfor the past couple of years.Brains,class,and style with humility thrown in ,Klitchko is a great person as well as a great boxer.As for Haye,big mouth and small toe......I think that says it all.

DH had a punchers chance, nothing more. His HW record is poor, and his reputation in the UK is built around two cruiser weight fights. He did show guts in taking WK on, but it was not smart to start insulting WK, which if nothing else gave WK a strong motivation to fight (less chnace for a DH victory). However, not many have gone the distance with WK, so (apart from his behaviour before the fight) there is nothing for DH to be ashamed of. As for the English supporters left in the rain, many of them also showed bad manners like their acolyte (so who cares)

Now enter all the Wlad band-wagon jumpers. This fight proved nothing apart from as usual he possess the physical stature, and the basics to beat most heavys. He does nothing more then the essentials well, his height and weight advantage played dividens tonight. It was no more then the usual jab, jab, grab and hold the centre of the ring.

The problem is Haye didn't step up to the mark, the 3 inch reach and height advantage was obvious to see he had to step in more to even chance a connection. He wasn't as mobile as possible, due to the broken toe, and even in the latter stages where he needed to win by knockout he didn't step it up. This though could be to do with the fact he would prefer to lose on points then get caught clean.

The referring of this match was again pretty poor, Wlad was allowed to constantly lean on Haye which drain the legs and slows a fighter down. He was deducted points for pushing Haye down yet continued with the tactic when Haye finally tried to push it. And then Haye receiving an eight count on a slip.

What did we learn from the fight, Wlad does the essentials well and with his physical advantage he will be a blown up cruiser-weight. Is he a future hall of famer maybe, is he a top heavy of all time no, are they killing of the heav weight division, yes. As for the people complaining about Hayes comments, grow a pair. They were no more then game menship and about selling tickets.

Oh no! My house! My car! As if.

As boxing is an individual sport, I felt no compunction whatsoever in hoping Klitschko defeated a fellow Brit. Just a pity that the fraud that is Haye got away with so much money. He should probably (offer to) refund the expenses of those Brits carried away/gullible/blindly patriotic enough to have either flown out to Hamburg or have tried PPV TV yesterday.

They may be labelled boring by others, but because I have more academic interests, the Klitschkos have always impressed me. Give me PhD-holding, multilingual, chess-playing world champion boxers of any nationality anytime.

im very dissapointed in haye as he promised so much but went in there injured,if it was that bad he should have pulled out,he said he didnt want to let the 10,000 brits down who paid to go to germany,but what about all of us at home who paid 15 quid plus to watch that?im also dissapointed in the british press/public trying to say he was a big mouth /no respect etc,thats a shame because even though he lost this was the first heayweight fight in ten years we have all been excited about,he should have pulled out 3 weeks ago and had the fight later in the year,thats not to say he would have won but at least there could have been no excuses

i can't believe people buy into all this trash talking hype. it's nothing more than boxers following their script, they both have contrasting images to sell and most people especially the media buy into it. Boxing is fast becoming like wwf, all glitz no substance in the ring.

I was actually dissapointed with both of them, Klitchko never really threatened haye and vice versa, they only landed a couple of worthwhile shots but neither were really shaken. it has me asking a lot of questions about how genuine top level boxing really is

I don't know much about boxing, but this is a very good article. I always quite like David Haye, but some of the stuff he has said of the past few months has been pretty appalling and frankly a load of hot air. I've been very impressed with Klitchko's behaviour showing Haye what it takes to be a true champion. Haye should learn from people like Klitchko and champions of other sports such as Nadal and learn that running of your big mouth gets you no where.
And giving the excuse of the toe so soon was pretty pathetic.

David haye you bum not only did you embarass your self you also embarassed great britain now take your 10million or w.e you got paid and dont every show your face in the sport again. For people who didnt watch the fight please do not buy it like i did you will be dissapointed most boring fight in history but well done to klitcko he's proved why he holds all the belts

Excellent article, says it all.
Haye was nowt but a mouth, hopefully he now shuts up.

@james mathew @ 15....

.....nice to see you gloating away and sticking your daggers into David Haye, again !! But, calm down will ya??....get rid of your hatred for the guy.

You must have seen picture of David's swollen foot, with medication they were able to dumb the pain enough for him to be able to fight; and he revealed this well after the fight, as it hindered him getting a proper leverage on his toes to fire his big shots at his opponent. David wasn't, by no means, using it as an excuse for losing the fight. So, please do not take it out of context.

I don't know what you mean by David being a "soar loser and bad sportsman" Hyping up fights is common and has been used by many boxers going back two centuries - why can't guys like yourself accept that and move on. Haye was gracious enough to acknowlege Klitschko's performance as winner - and I do too here. The truth is Wlad had it all and proved it last night.

Boxing is an international sport, and as such we ought to enjoy it, winning or losing, but don't use it to foster ill-feelings or hatred of others !!

Intelligent piece, and many intelligent comments and observations from insightful and informed fans. Thank you.

I'm not much of a sports fan (Sky's gratuitious and patronising marketing hype doesn't help here!), but I am regularly impressed by the expertise fans express for their particular sport. Boxing has its detractors, and there are concerns for the mental wellbeing of the fighters, but I am always struck by the calibre of the few who seem to understand the value of being human as well as energised muscle. Perhaps it was Cooper who first made me realise that difference, but we are fortunate that men with the stature of Klitschko and Khan continue to show that boxing requires intelligence as well as brawn. Odd that only the latter gets promoted?

Let's face it. Haye (like Audley Harrison) is all talk. If you look at who Haye has fought in the heavyweight division, well, it's not exactly stellar reading. Monte Barratt is a good journeyman. Valuev is a big lump who can't punch his weight (and I still think he beat Haye that night). John Ruiz was a hasbeen when fighting Haye and need I say anything about Audley Harrison.

He talks the talk but can't walk the walk.

In my opinion, it was an easy fight to predict. There was no way Haye was going to have the armoury to beat either Klitschko. I must admit, I think he fought the weaker of the two brothers and he could have quite possibly been knocked out if he had fought Vitali.

He will definately regret not making more of an effort in the fight. It seems as though he didn't have a plan b. Maybe now, he'll show more respect and dignity to both Klitschko brothers and to boxing itself.

Well i think the responses from your article Ben sums it up really. David Haye simply wasn't good enough..when he beat Audley Harrison which (a blind man with he's arm tied behind him could have done) he was giving it large about how good he was etc etc. Scathing comments to Klitschko who in hand was always articulate at every stage gave him a vital message about class. I've never been a fan of Haye because of he's attitude, arrogance and plain big headedness..he wasn't good enough and blaming it on he's toe is just pathetic..if he had won the toe would not have been mentioned. And just so the public would think arrhh he's poor toe, after the press conference he hobbled away like an old man..shameful.

I actually quite enjoyed the fight last night, watching twelve rounds after the Harrison debacle was a relief

I don't think Haye has brought up his toe because of being a sore loser or whatever, i suspect that he actually wants a rematch with Wladimir. Looking back i would guess the broken toe was the reason he stopped sparring a week earlier and it might actually explain his tactics in the fight. If he got knocked out then that would be it as far as his chances of fighting either of the Klitschkos again however and fairly subdued loss on points actually sets up a rematch quite nicely. Wlads camp would obviously dismiss talk of a rematch as it puts them ahead in negotiations. My hunch (based on nothing but guesswork and wishful thinking) is that they will have a rematch at Wembley in october with Klitschko taking the purse 60-40

I was quite critical of the authors blog yesterday (maybe a bit unfairlly) but he got it absolutely spot on today..

As for all this why don't we support our British sportsmen nonsense - why should I support Haye? My favourite boxer is Erik Morales cos he mixes talent with humility, heart and fights like a warrior and goes out on his shield. Haye ticks none of these boxes.. yesterday was a unification fight, he should've done way more. Supporting Haye because he is a Brit is exactly how you get mugged out of paying for a fight against Harrison or flying to Germany to see him walk away to a nice pay check in relative safety..

Yesterday's approach to the fight confirmed my suspicion that Haye was never really serious about achieving a credible legacy. I'm not surprised, I'm just not one of those 10,000 spending a month's wages to stand in the rain in Germany to find out I've been conned.

Matt-Stone:

Firstly his toe looked like it had an insect bite. And the man danced his way into the ring and never once winced on his foot during the match...so that's plain and simply an excuse and a pathetic one at that.

That's what makes him a bad sports man...because he cant just admit he was outclassed by a much better fighter. He lost 10/12 rounds. In boxing terms that's not a fight...that's a once sided punishment.

If you were a neutral in this...as I am (not from Britain or Ukraine)...you too would agree that it was a one sided fight and that the baby toe was just a pathetic excuse of a soar loser who cant graciously admit he was beaten by the better man.

At least now Haye can retire and be known as a great cruiser weight and that guy who thought he could take on the big boys but failed miserably.
I imagine we will see him in some movie within the next year trying to be the new Dwayne Johnson!

I think I'd have more respect for Wladimir if he unified the belts, but if he's unwilling to fight his brother to do that then the heavyweight division will remain boring.

He won yesterday, but on points and went the full 12 rounds. Everybody is saying why didn't Haye do better, my question is if Wladimir was dominating the fight could he have not went for the KO?

well i was so wrong but at least i did say it would be cagey. i didnt mind the fight thought it wasnt bad thou suppose for all the hype and price people prob deserved alot more.

fair play to wlad i havent been a fan but thats his best fight ive seen him fight, he took a big shot to the nose which looked like he broke it, his jab is so damn effective and he didnt even let it slip down when pulling it back which he does have a tendency to do.

as far as haye, well lets say was disappointed that he just didnt put his body on the line after the 9th and go for broke cause he had nothing really to lose at that stage.

on the subject of the toe, if he was injured before the fight he should never have fought, why waste your chance against wlad if your not fully fit. and those saying about small toe doesnt matter, you need check up just how important it is for balance. if his toe was broke its impressive he even able to bounce around the ring in it and throw punches.

thou overall he desereved to lose, he should have held on to showing his toe till next day at least just not come across badly after loss.

I think the most telling thing about this fight was Haye's reaction after it ended. He knew he had lost the fight by a wide margin, but he was happy. It was obvious by his demeanor that he considered it a victory just by making it to the final bell. That attitude explains why he failed to engage during the fight and also makes it clear his pre-fight boasting was nothing but an act to build up the fight. I give him props for securing himself a big payday and succeeding in building up interest in a fight he hoped only to survive.

@ 4 and others - nobody cares if you think it is a good blog or whether you enjoyed reading it!!

Basically last night was the death of the heavyweight division. Before the fight we saw heavyweight legends Tyson, Foreman and Lewis, during the fight we saw a blown up cruiserweight and a boring, boring robot.

I don't really understand the praise for Klitchko, he is effective but still safety first, petrified of being caught on the chin because of what happens when he does (see the last round when he was holding on for dear life). Had Haye attacked more, got on the inside, then he wouuld have more success instead of trying to counter all fight. I wouldn't compare Klitchko with Ali or Holmes either, can you compare Foreman, Frazier and Norton to Tony Thompson or Eddie Chambers!?! Maybe that's just the era he is born in, reduced to fighting bums or blown up cruizers.

As for Haye, yes the excuse is cringeworthy and embarrassing, but the hate that he has received on social networking sites for example and notably Dan Rafael, is ridiculous and uncalled for considering these keyboard warriors wouldn't have the balls to get in the ring themselves. They forget his exploits as a cruizer, going to France and beating Mormeck for example.

I do not usually take the time to post on a blog but after watching this fight I felt riped off and conned by Haye's claims to win and how. So I am impelled to take the time to say my peice.
I have been a boxing fan since Ali/Frazer days and with the hype surrounding this fight thought my faith and interest in a boxing and a new British hero would be renewed. I was pumped. Instead I now feel I got conned by an over confident, arrogant showman who if he boxed anything like he spoke would have the knock down power of MikeTyson and boxing intelligence of Lewis/Ali. No where near!!!!
Instead I saw a guy who talked himself into a big paycheck, did not take any risks, threw the minimum of punches (spent most of his time head weaving like stevie wonder), fell down as often as he could in hope to get points deducted from Kiltschko (Ref eventually got wise to that tactic). What a farce!!!
I have no respect for this guy and I am really diappointed for the British fans who followed him like lambs.
He needs to retire (a wealthy man) and vanish because he made the country look like we cheat, are arrogant with nothing to back it up and poor losers when afterwards he blames it on his broken toe!!.....come on more BS.
I for one will not waste my time watching this guy again if he BS's another chance!!

he made klitschko look silly at times but his wide foot stance made it impossible for haye to get inside as he only neede to lean to be completely out of range klitschko was the coward if you ask me haye could'nt get inside because of his weird wide legged stance still if haye wants to beat him he has to switch trainers to roach or mayweather snr he has the athletic ability but booth just doesnt have the answers not disrespecting him not many trainers have the skills of roach and mayweather

Probably the most embarrassing press conference i've ever seen!! the limp in sandals is classic. Hopefully that was Hayes last "fight". Too much mouth,with nothing to back it up. Broken toe will go down as the boxing equivalent of "the dog ate my homework".
Feeble.

Why are so many people fixated with what was happening outside of the ring? The truth is always revealed inside the ring. Haye wasnt good enough to be undisputed champ - simple as. Thats what his career will be partly judged on, not that he said this or said that. Some people are digressing and getting away from the important points.

I can't believe people aren't giving DH credit as a heavyweight. Apart from the Klitschko's, he would beat anyone else in the division. Nobody ever got close to putting down Valuev. As for Harrison, he fought him cos the public wanted Harrison to get destroyed - which he was. I don't blame DH for taking that.

The truth is, you need a "bad guy" to generate interest and that's what DH did. It was a little tasteless at times but it got the public interested. Regardless of the result, people took notice and everyone was talking about it. All this stuff about being "conned" - what rubbish. Haye wasn't knocked out, Klitschko was just too good...you can't expect everything someone says to actually happen.

The only thing I am disappointed in about Haye is the broken toe excuse afterwards. It did make him sound like a sore loser.

I cannot believe the people who claim to follow the fight game actually seem to believe that Haye's pre-fight talk is every anything than a ploy to generate interest and money. That was why Klitschko took the fight because, nice guy that he is, he lacks the personality to promote himself or a fight. Just look at the income the fight generated for both fighters and it's hard to argue that Haye did anything other than a mighty fine promotion job. Just wait and see what Klitschko's next fight bring in - a fraction of what Haye whipped up.

After that performance, Haye should consider himself lucky to have been awarded second place.

60 " All this stuff about being "conned" - what rubbish."

If Haye says that he would clean up and invigorate the HW division and you believed this and spent a lot of money to fly out to Germany and buy tickets to see him not having a go at wladimir's glass chin or if you paid to see the Harrison fight.. then yes, of course you were conned.

Living in Hamburg we witnssed a huge build up. Not all pleasent. Hordes of drunken louts singing about 10 german bombers, humming battle of britain melodies and just being bored in general. I wish I could say it was the minority. The weigh in simply intimdating with more louts swearing and shouting abuse at Klitschko. They did look a sorry sight walking home in the tottential rain - and no, no taxies came. And the shuttle buses were no where to be see. All that said Haye should be stripped of his license of climbing in that ring with a broken toe. I and many others put sizeable bets on him to win based on history, his skills and the great odds. Him being effectively handicapped makes a mockery of our bets. An absolute disgrace. Wlad was class throughout. And I'm glad he won.

Ben

BBC reporters should be impartial as you claim in an earlier comment, but I must say your above report is everything but !! The hype over the years by the Haye Camp must have worked like magic and fooled a lot of the people, a lot of the time, including yourself Ben. I watched the fight because I love boxing and would travel to foreign land and lose money gambling on the outcome, or win for that matter.
The trouble is too many guys are too naive to tell realities from creating an event which HYPE plays a big part in.

Guys here calling Haye a fool or mad or whatever are taking themselves too seriously when they ought to be like England Football supporters who went home quietly after the World Cup in S Africa and sulk without swearing or running people down. Its only a Sport, for heaven's sake !! Rooney is still their hero, and so is Becks, though this fella does a lot pouch-posing nowadays. So, please give Haye a break and lay off him !!

big man beaten by a small toe?

Hmm, sorry about the atrocious spelling there. Can I not edit posts? I was getting too heated up ... And "bored" should have read "borish".

Klitschko once again uses superior reach to jab a shorter armed opponent into defeat. It's undoubtedly effective, but I definitely wouldn't spend any money to watch it.
Haye unfortunately mistook Rocky 3 style hype for actual entertainment. Making ridiculous statements beforehand doesn't make a boring fight any better, if anything it makes it more irritating. People expect the bombastic pronouncements to be backed up by some kind of scintillating display of boxing skills, and when they aren't, it makes you look a bit, well, stupid.
Klitschko's undoubtedly the best in the world right now, but I wouldn't bother watching his fights for free, let alone on pay-per-view.
I mean, I used to think Lennox Lewis was a bit dull, who knew that it would get this much worse.

Boxing has become more and more like pro-wrestling with the trash talking, over elaborate ring entrances and hype actually being worth more column inches than the actual fight.
I seriously thought Haye had a punchers chance, but like so many of the Ukrainen's opponents he seemed totally initimidated by the size and the speed of the Klitschko jab. In the end he resorted to moaning at the referee and trying to win by getting his opponent disqualified. Klitschko leans on you but Haye was going down with no encouragement. The referee was awful, but if you moan at him all the time you expect him to get annoyed with you and punish you. I actually have more respect for Danny Williams who went in trying to beat Klitschko and ended up getting pummelled, than David Haye who gave it all the talk and then looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Similar to Man Utd vs Barcelona and England v GErmany at the World Cup we hype our teams and sportsmen up but sometimes they are just so totally outclassed that it's almost embarrassing to watch. YEsterday was another example of media hype selling something that wasn't there.

61- Klitschkos generate interest in their fights. In the last 4 klitschko fights they have sold over 200000 tickets for stadiums etc. You don't need a loud mouth to sell a fight, you just need a good boxer.

Haye ran scared the whole fight. Klitschko could not knock him out cos haye was always running away. And this whole toe nonsense. Haye was fine dancing into the ring and fine ducking and bobbing and running away from klitschko for 12 rounds but as soon as the fight is over and he loses he is limping and is in agony.

Haye's only option is to fight vitali. But vitali has a fight coming up so haye will have to postpone his retirement. If not he will always be rembered for that poor poor showing that he gave last night

The only optio

Well if you think running away from someone 10% lighter and 5% shorter makes a 'classy' boxer, you've got different perspective to me. Even after all the trash talk from Haye - Klitschko kept out of his way. Yes he did enough to win but I would hope that a great champion would want to do more than that.

Klitschko's win because they are bigger, not better.

HW boxing is boring.

OH GOD BOXING DIED ON SATURDAY NIGHT
wat idiot goes into a fight no fit , And as for mr steel hammer nuth said you dont deserve anything. it's allright to jab but if its your only punch god have mercy on this sport . I Swear those stats lie i watched a match and like 2 of every jab landed haye was dogged all of em. As for big mouth i dont think u can rate his chin he only got hit 5 times cleanly.

Haye had no answer to Klitschko, couldnt get inside and didnt throw any combinations at all. I was bitterly disappointed. You cant blame Wladimir for being boring if the other guy doesnt take risks and engage in the fight. Hats off to Wladimir, he fought like a champion.

Like Audley against Haye, De Gale against Groves and now David Haye against Wladimir Klitschko.. the trash talkers got it handed to them. Maybe a forewarning for Floyd if he ever fights Manny. I love the prefight hype, but if you don't deliver when the time comes, then its a big let down and you look stupid..

He may have banked around £15m last night, but Haye wont retire on a loss, no doubt about that. After he loses to Vitali, David Haye will fight Tomasz Adamek.

Just a minute johndoe88 #38 - "Hayes comments......were no more then game menship and about selling tickets" (sic). What are you thinking? - that this vile behaviour is acceptable because ther was some goal in mind? Did civilisation miss out knocking on the door behind which you were brought up? A serious question this, for how else do people come to believe that behaviour like Hayes' is acceptable - ever?

The sport of boxing does not deserve to be tarnished by fighters or supporters with values from the gutter and it does not need boxers like Haye any more than golf needs Tiger Woods. Give me Klitchko, Nadal, Federer, McIlroy any day. These are people who know how to behave and who I can ask my son to look up to.

Haye was of course a superb cruiserweight - probably the third best of all time behind Holyfield and DeLeon, so to dismiss him solely as a hype job is unfair. More than anything, I struggled to see exactly what his game plan was - it looked all wrong from the off when he was the one circling the ring and Wladimir looking to move in and close the gap - the complete opposite of what needed to happen.

Given that Hayemaker had Valuev wobbling all over the place, I've no doubt that he had the power to put his man down last night, but he needed to be landing flurries of punches and really taking Wlad out of his comfort zone - this is what Corrie Sanders did when he anihalated Wlad in two rounds.

Haye never forced Klitschko to do something that was alien to him last night and that's the principle reason he lost IMO.

https://outspokenrabbit.blogspot.com/

Was it all a set up by Klichko to have Haye take Valuev's belt only to hand it to him? The Klichkos have all the belts now!! We can say goodbye to unification fights.

I am pleasantly surprised. Not about the result of the fight, we all knew (deep down) that this was going to happen. I'm surprised about the comments and reactions on here. It seemed like I was the only Brit that seemed to hate what Haye was doing, and think that Klitschko was both a better boxer, and person. Glad that there were others who thought like me, and have echoed my thoughts exactly in most of the comments above. Brilliant article by the way Ben, keep it up!

Only Wlad vs Vitali could provide a draw in heavyweight boxing now... their reluctance to fight away from home and that they won't fight each other for a chance of greatness is the perfect illustration of the fact that boxing is more about money now than it's ever been.

Possible solution: revert to one belt per weight... then we'd see some boxing.

@ Chris (70) and Blaggard (74),

I more or less agree completely. Although, I would prefer my own son to look up to me as a role model.

Haye is a joke. He wasn't man enough to put up a decent fight and wasn't man enough to admit he got his a**e handed to him on a plate. Instead he comes up with a lame (sorry) excuse about a broken toe, (which didn't seem to be causing a problem either before or during the fight). A boxer citing a broken toe as the reason they lost a fight is like a footballer claiming they missed a goal because they had a broken finger. Face it, Mr. Haye. You just can't cut it as a heavyweight, go back to cruiserweight were you were actually good.

To those on here who take Haye seriously when he claims that his toe caused his poor performance - if the toe was indeed broken three weeks ago, then Haye would absolutely have known from his sparring sessions that it was going to stop him throwing his best punch with full leverage in the fight. That punch, it is clear, was his only chance of winning the fight, and his team knew that damn well. He was therefore either an idiot before the fight or a liar after it. Either the toe was as bad as he claims, in which case he shouldn't have been anywhere near a boxing ring (and has therefore conned his fans), or it wasn't that bad, in which case Wladimir beat him well and fairly. I think it must have been the latter - Haye and Booth were very, very confident going into the fight that they would be able to execute the game plan they had devised - there is surely no way that they would have thought they could still do it when Haye couldn't properly throw his bread & butter shot. If it had affected him as badly in sparring as he claims it did in the ring (falling over constantly, distracted, in pain, unable to get his punches off) they would unquestionably have pulled out of the fight and released medical certificates and x-rays as proof of injury. Even if Haye had insisted on going on, it would have been Booth's duty to insist on pulling him out.

But no, they clearly thought they could win, so you have to conclude that it wasn't that bad an injury, and that Haye did in fact give it his best effort, and that Wladimir was simply far too good for him. From which it follows that Haye's post-fight claims are the worst sort of excuse-making. What popularity he had before the fight must be rapidly diminishing now.

Comment number 1 here pretty much hits the nail on the head. The British media are very good at lying/misrepresenting people's actual ability, in order to create hype. Haye vs Klitschko. Murray vs Nadal. Man Utd vs Barcelona. All non-events between opponents who are not in the same class as each other. Non-events or events where the Brits have no chance don't sell papers though, so the British media need to turn them into big events.

I used to get frustrated at this media nonsense, now I just use it to my advantage. In the 3 events I've listed above and in the Germany-England World Cup game last summer, I won money by betting against the British player/team and got way better odds than I should have, presumably due to the media hype, biased bookies and lots of people being fooled into betting on the Brits because of all the hype.

My initial reaction after this fight was that we'd all been had. Neither man looked particularly marked or bruised after. Haye took a few solid punches (and landed a couple looping slaps himself). Other than that, all I saw was a lot of dancing round the ring, blocked jabs and a lack of technique (Haye) and desire to do some actual damage (Klitschko).

These two risked nothing, did little, and took home all the cash. Haye's corner must have known after 8 or 9 rounds that a knockout was required, but Haye still did very little. Anyone who has watched the 3 Klitschko defeats can see what is required to get under his skin. I can only assume that Haye either didn't believe he could do it, or didn't want it enough.

Thank the boxing Gods I didn't pay to watch this.

I will try to be as impartial as I can in this post.

David Haye has been a breath of fresh air for the short time he has been in the Heavyweight division, he's a good looking guy, speaks well, and has performed nothing short of a masterstroke in managing to convince the K Brothers to go 50-50.

He often went to the lions den for his earlier fights, and when you looks at his career path in who he was fighting (Carl Thompson is his 6th Fight) he looked almost reckless in his approach when compared to the route Frank Warren has taken his fighters. (which normally end up in them leaving him when he finally gets them the big fight)

Unfortunatly, for the bravado and risks he has taken in his early career, he fooled me into believing that he would rather go out on his shield and get KO'ed than be involved in another Klitschko tedious affair. I understand that no-one likes getting punched in the face, but if this is your last fight, 1000s of fans have travelled over.... in the biggest fight of your life. MAN UP AND GO FOR IT.

If Haye had done a Hatton (when he fought Mayweather) and got KO'ed trying to actively finish the fight, then not many British fans would of complained. But he didn't, he bottled it so he could take some kind of solace in saying he was injured (despite claiming that "although every boxer says it, he is in perfect shape") and that a nautral Cruiserweight did very well in lasting with a Klitschko.

Not good enough Haye, not good enough.

Now is the time to actually do something that you claim you would do..... Retire with your health, financial security and wonderful family. But don't try to con the British public again.

Question - would Haye have been allowed to have an injection to numb his foot much like Nadal did before facing Murray? If not, it might go some way to explain why Haye looked like Bambi on ice during that fight.

Also, Haye's bad mouthing was nothing more than a desparate tactic knowing full well that his only hope of winning would be to disrupt Klitchko's normal routine. It didn't and he was well beaten by the better man.

im sorry mr haye u did not deserve any points at all, dont blab stay quiet youve lost,

Typical of the English fans (fools) who where conned by Stay Away Haye to do their usual booing of the opponent's national anthem, you & David Haye make me embarrassed to be English, Well done Wladimir.

Boxing really is on its last legs at this point in time. PPV revenue is in the toilet, MMA has trounced boxing in both live attendance and PPV income, and even "Sports-Entertainment" products like WWE have stepped over the bloated remains of what used to be the biggest contact sport in the world.

With idiots like Haye, and in the past Naseem Hamed at the forefront, is it any surprise that boxing is considered a joke these days?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Klitschko's superior jab and weight proved too much for him. Haye never got inside his jab and therefore never really caused the Ukranian any problems. As for Haye's pre-bout talk, that's all it was. Haye is a cruiserweight not a heavyweight. To go the distance with Klitschko despite being over two stone lighter , deserves in my opinion some praise. Haye's broken toe excuse was a bit lame, but he did praise Klitschko afterwards saying he was a "great fighter".

It's interesting to hear all the ex-world champions in comments 1-90 who always showed the minerals to have great fight careers and therefore earned the right to question Haye's cajoonies.

My betting account is nicely up this morning. Klitschko on points he calls. Klitschko on points he scores.

Thegreatape (comment 30):

What on earth are you talking about?

Naseem Hamed fought all the best people he could??? What about Erik Morales (arguably the best in his division?). And his loss to Barrera was questionable???? Since when? He got dominated.

I don't mind people who know nothing about boxing posting on here but its a shame when they pretend they actually know something about it.

Hamed was an exciting to watch fighter who was found out at the very highest level. Sound familiar from last night?

I never questioned Haye's "gentleman's area" (Thanks to Ross Noble for that one), only his over-inflated ego.

Also, ComeEnglandAway, you can't have had much faith in Haye to begin with by betting on Klitschko, so isn't it somewhat hypocritical of you to call out others?

1.
At 13:13 3rd Jul 2011, Gavelaa wrote:

Who were the people who thought David Haye could beat Klitschko? Were they the same people who thought Manchester United could beat Barcelona in the Champions League Final. For me, this fight was one bag of hype. There was no realistic expectations produced as a result of decent analysis of the boxers, and everyone thought he may have a chance. But there was only one heavyweight in that ring last night. It was a mismatch. Klitschko didn't have to do anything special to win.



Spot on. Haye talked his way into a big fight for big money but has little talent at heavyweight.

Big winners as usual are the money men.

Someone mentioned Prince nassem Hamid?

Is this discussion about disco dancing? he was good at that.

It is not the lack of ability or talent that infuriates about Haye, it is the fact he doesn't really give it everything he has. Frank Bruno, despite a lack of stamina and a solid chin went in against Witherspoon, Tyson and Lewis. Although Bruno was brutally exposed in those fights, no one ever said Bruno didn't try to win.
Great fighters and champions always take risks, it doesn't mean you have to be foolhardy and swing wildly at your opponent.

It was a really poor night for boxing! In contrast, I was at UFC 132 in Las Vegas last night and there was little interest in Haye vs Klitschko. There was more competition and action in the closely fought main event of Cruz vs Faber than in Germany. I suspect that there were more punches thrown/landed in that five round main event than were thrown in 12 rounds in Germany.

Boring fight from both, although the jab was effective on points but never bothered Haye one bit, if he was that bothered by it he wouldn't have invited it. Whatever you say about the toe injury it would hamper your performance a little, not quite as much ad Haye intimated.

Don't be shocked for a rematch or a fight against the elder brother, whom I think Haye would stand a better chance!

Overly harsh on Haye are most of these comments.

1. He is already a unified world champion at Cruiserweight and beat the previous champion in his own backyard
2. He did what other supposedly brave British champions did not do and took on the bestvat their best. He never ducked a fight or waited until his opponents were over 40 before fighting them. Sure he fought muppets as warm up but he now fought the best
3. He did what is the hardest weight change in boxing by going up to heavyweight which means giving away big weight advantage rather than the max of 7 lbs wheb moving up any other weight)
4. So what about his trash talk. It s entertaining not meant seriously and people should stop being so sensitive.

In 1978, Scotland went to the World Cup in Argentina with Ally Macleod in charge of the squad but probably not his mind. He Hyped up Scotland and his insane banter almost had people believing Scotland could do something.

Footballing Heavyweights Iran and Peru, put paid to the hype.

I find it easy to draw comparisons with Haye before this fight.

He had to get his gameplan spot on to beat Klitschko - he got nowhere near it. Only a win would have seen Haye come out of this fight with pride. Some boxers can win huge respect in defeat, others can only skulk off having won nothing.

Haye's gameplan started a year ago as he upped the Trash talk. To levels that went beyond sporting hype. Ali, seemed to trash talk with class, Haye was just a fool.

Ali would back up his trash talk in the ring, Haye had to at some point win some respect.

But Haye couldn't shut up before, even during the fight where he complained like a premiership footballer - then just when be become a hugely beaten man without much of a fight you would hope he would shut up and take a massive slice of humble pie - instead he looked for excuses and moaned about his toe.

Ally Mcleod will go down in sporting legend for his histrionics - silly yes, but not embarrassing. Haye on the other, what a loser, what a failure, what a classless gobby child.

Haye has done more damage to Boxing than any 'robotic' boxing of Klitschko.

I'm not saying that he didn't deserve to lose or anything like that but for people to say that a broken toe is of no consequence is ridiculous.

If you have a broken toe, your movement will definitely be impaired. Also, the longer the fight went on, the bigger the problem it would have been.

Who would really want to take on a giant if their movement is impaired?
I think that people don't seem to understand how important toes are to movement as it would definitely have been a problem.

I don't think he should have highlighted it after the fight though, as he was beaten by a better boxer.