Haye to fight Kevin Johnson?

[Kev]

Johnson has SOME names on his record but Rahman and Maskaev are guys who won at the TOP of the division and he hasn't done that yet and despite where they are in their respective careers that experience matters.


If Johnson is able to take a punch then he's going to give Haye a lot of issues.

I agree completely that Maskaev and Rahman would be better fights for Haye and bigger names on his record.

But seeing Maskaev labour to a win over Hawkins and Rahman barely get past Zuri Lawrence you'd have to say a young, unbeaten, live opponent like Johnson is a much stiffer task than either of them.

Rahman certainly is trading on name only these days, he's fat and out of shape, Maskaev is fat and slow and Haye would be highly fancied to beat both of them imo.

This Johnson fella could be tricky.

If I was Haye, or part of his team I'd choose to fight Rahman or Maskaev over Johnson any day. This is a difficult fight for very little recognition.

[Spicoli]

The thing Im seeing in Williams that might give Haye some concerns is speed of foot & hand.Matching Haye it would seem,Haye would shine against ,In contrast to himself, a slow lumbering Heavyweight.Power would be a threat but his chin is not going to get any stronger than it already is,He could really polish his footwork early on.what an initial party crashing impression it would be to TKO or descision a former "in the now" champion.

Risk reward ratio ?

[OumaFan]

Kind of an odd choice IMO. A big guy without much name recognition that could be difficult to fight cause he's very safety first and pretty much just jabs his way to UDs, with actually a very good jab that Haye could have a lot of problems with.

[Pugilistic]

Johnson is a tougher fight for Haye than what i thought he would of taken for his first fight at heavyweight.

if he gets the fight then good on him.

[rjj tszyu]

People are talking about Johnsons poor power but surely he has more power than Carl Thompson??

Anyway I like Haye and I hope if he does get this fight he blows him straight out and sparks some life into the supposed glamour division of boxing!

[killersheep]

I hope Johnson starts out smart and uses his great jab, if Johnson tries to get cute Haye will make quick work of him. Not a bad entry fight for Haye though.

[p4pking]

Make no mistake, Johnson may not be a big name but he IS a test for Haye. I'd say he represents a bigger test than Maskaev, Rahman and Guinn.

He's unbeaten and has beaten the kind of guys a decent prospect should beat.

Wins over Robert Hawkins, Robert Wiggins and Damian Wills show he's a decent prospect. These are the kind of guys that the Maskaev's, Guinns, Arreola's and Audley Harrisons built their records on and so to have beaten them all shows he's no mug.

A draw with Timor Ibragimov in his 4th fight as well, this kid may not be able to punch but he can certainly box and will be a tough test for Haye.

If I was in Hayes camp I'd much rather fight someone with the name profile of a Rahman or Maskaev who will likely be a lot easier to beat than this guy.

If Haye takes this fight people shouldn't underestimate him.

No 20-0-1 fighter should ever be written off as a nobody, especially not by a guy essentially making his debut in the heavyweight division against him.

Tough fight for Haye and props to him if he takes this tricky fight.

Exactly my take.. Anyone who thinks Haye should be taking on a tougher opponent for his HW debut, much less those who would criticize him for taking this fight, simply overrate David Haye grossly. It's just ludicrous to expect him to have no problems fighting a big HW with real power right away. I would almost call this a pick em personally, Johnson has a very good jab and is schooled. We don't know whether he can really take a good shot or keep his cool under fire, but then again Haye has pretty much proven he can't either. And maybe Johnson does hit hard enough to put him out. If not he'll certainly put up a good tactical account of himself, it's not like Haye is some master boxer by any means, Johnson probably has far better skills. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Haye lost this, and it would definetly be impressive if he does a number on Johnson. Good matchup.

[rjj tszyu]

Make no mistake, Johnson may not be a big name but he IS a test for Haye. I'd say he represents a bigger test than Maskaev, Rahman and Guinn.

He's unbeaten and has beaten the kind of guys a decent prospect should beat.

Wins over Robert Hawkins, Robert Wiggins and Damian Wills show he's a decent prospect. These are the kind of guys that the Maskaev's, Guinns, Arreola's and Audley Harrisons built their records on and so to have beaten them all shows he's no mug.

A draw with Timor Ibragimov in his 4th fight as well, this kid may not be able to punch but he can certainly box and will be a tough test for Haye.

If I was in Hayes camp I'd much rather fight someone with the name profile of a Rahman or Maskaev who will likely be a lot easier to beat than this guy.

If Haye takes this fight people shouldn't underestimate him.

No 20-0-1 fighter should ever be written off as a nobody, especially not by a guy essentially making his debut in the heavyweight division against him.

Tough fight for Haye and props to him if he takes this tricky fight.

Exactly my take.. Anyone who thinks Haye should be taking on a tougher opponent for his HW debut, much less those who would criticize him for taking this fight, simply overrate David Haye grossly. It's just ludicrous to expect him to have no problems fighting a big HW with real power right away. I would almost call this a pick em personally, Johnson has a very good jab and is schooled. We don't know whether he can really take a good shot or keep his cool under fire, but then again Haye has pretty much proven he can't either. And maybe Johnson does hit hard enough to put him out. If not he'll certainly put up a good tactical account of himself, it's not like Haye is some master boxer by any means, Johnson probably has far better skills. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Haye lost this, and it would definetly be impressive if he does a number on Johnson. Good matchup.

I think that Haye will school Johnson to be honest if they do fight. I would be extremely shocked if he got beat anyway

[skel1983]

People are talking about Johnsons poor power but surely he has more power than Carl Thompson??

Anyway I like Haye and I hope if he does get this fight he blows him straight out and sparks some life into the supposed glamour division of boxing!

Carl Thompson? Haye was stopped in that fight due to his stamina not the power of Carl Thompson, Carl Thompson was teeing off on Haye in that Haye and he was still standing? Haye in that fight was badly conditioned threw the kitchen sink at Thompson then folded because he was gassed, similar to Cotto/Margarito.

[p4pking]

Make no mistake, Johnson may not be a big name but he IS a test for Haye. I'd say he represents a bigger test than Maskaev, Rahman and Guinn.

He's unbeaten and has beaten the kind of guys a decent prospect should beat.

Wins over Robert Hawkins, Robert Wiggins and Damian Wills show he's a decent prospect. These are the kind of guys that the Maskaev's, Guinns, Arreola's and Audley Harrisons built their records on and so to have beaten them all shows he's no mug.

A draw with Timor Ibragimov in his 4th fight as well, this kid may not be able to punch but he can certainly box and will be a tough test for Haye.

If I was in Hayes camp I'd much rather fight someone with the name profile of a Rahman or Maskaev who will likely be a lot easier to beat than this guy.

If Haye takes this fight people shouldn't underestimate him.

No 20-0-1 fighter should ever be written off as a nobody, especially not by a guy essentially making his debut in the heavyweight division against him.

Tough fight for Haye and props to him if he takes this tricky fight.

Exactly my take.. Anyone who thinks Haye should be taking on a tougher opponent for his HW debut, much less those who would criticize him for taking this fight, simply overrate David Haye grossly. It's just ludicrous to expect him to have no problems fighting a big HW with real power right away. I would almost call this a pick em personally, Johnson has a very good jab and is schooled. We don't know whether he can really take a good shot or keep his cool under fire, but then again Haye has pretty much proven he can't either. And maybe Johnson does hit hard enough to put him out. If not he'll certainly put up a good tactical account of himself, it's not like Haye is some master boxer by any means, Johnson probably has far better skills. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Haye lost this, and it would definetly be impressive if he does a number on Johnson. Good matchup.

I think that Haye will school Johnson to be honest if they do fight. I would be extremely shocked if he got beat anyway

He may flatten him, I'm really not to sure what Johnson is capable of... But Haye isn't really about to school anyone. If it becomes a boxing match and gets to the later rounds I think Haye could possibly be the one getting schooled, though I somewhat doubt it happens the more I think about it. Johnson has looked decent to me though, he does have a very good jab and the way he fights he may be harder for Haye to find quickly than his previous opponents. I can't personally think of one stick and move type fighter Haye has even fought. Furthermore has he ever gone the distance with anyone? Imo this has the potential to be a real roadblock for Haye. Can he hold up in the championship rounds against a solid Hw?

[WelshDevilRob]

Kevin Johnson is young and undefeated and carries a Top 10 ranking (7th with the WBA).

I'm pretty pleased with Johnson as the opponent and he'll provide a good test for Haye.