It was a public sparring contest. The team wanted him to go the distance and the plan was to limit his punch output each round and not throw any real big shots. It worked as it gave Haye the experience of doing 12 rounds. They used this formula against Mormeck as they knew Haye was weak at the weight - except against Mormeck they mixed in the bombs aswell.
A similar situation happened when Lennox Lewis fought undefeated Zelkjo Mavrovic. Emmanual Steward wanted Lennox to do the rounds to get him prepared for his next fight against Holyfield.
Sometimes not looking great in a fight is for a reason - the bigger prize down the line.
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