Boxing News Boxing News
David Haye spent the last three years insulting Wladimir Klitschko leading up to their clash tonight at Im-tech Arena in Hamburg, Germany but when it came time for his fists to do the talking, the WBA titlist came up empty handed over the course of twelve mostly one-sided rounds.
Klitschko immediately put Haye on the back foot, taking control by keeping the smaller man at the end of the hardest jab in the business.
The quicker Haye sought for ways to get around this difficulty but Klitschko is a master at creating and maintaining the distance he prefers.
Haye tried to counter Klitschko but in order to cover a lot of ground against his 6’7 opponent, the Englishman was forced to wing wild overhand right hands that mostly missed, causing Haye to go off balance and at times, fall to the canvas.
Haye did connect in the third with big right hands but so did Klitschko in one of the few competitive rounds of the bout.
Haye got in a crisp right in the fourth but Klitschko returned the favor in the fifth frame, proving that both fighters, often maligned in their careers for having dodgy chins, could take a hard shot from a feared puncher.
As the rounds wore on, Klitschko continued to impose his size and skill, backing Haye up and keeping him defensive with the long, thudding jab that never went away.
The seventh saw Klitschko lose a point for pushing Haye down and the Ukrainian raised the pressure on Haye afterward, resulting in a couple of good exchanges in the ninth.
Haye was kept on the defensive in the tenth by Klitschko’s pressure and jab, trying to turn things around in the eleventh with wild, desperate swings that resulted in Haye falling to the floor again, where he was assessed a spurious knockdown.
The action finally heated up in the twelfth when Haye shook Klitschko with a right but that just brought on a parade of rights from big Wlad before the contest ended.
When the cards were read, Klitschko won a unanimous decision by margins of 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110, improving to 56-3 (49), and the 35 year old is now the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion.
Haye loses his WBA title after two defenses, dropping to 25-2 (23).
The undercard saw ex-WBO cruiserweight beltholder Ola Afolabi, 17-2-3 (8), KO 42 year old former European and British champion Terry Dunstan, 24-4 (14), in the first round while light welter prospect Gabor Veto, 25-0 (19), was outboxed by veteran southpaw James Kimori, 15-6 (11), before chinning Kimori in the final round.
