Quote Originally Posted by Majesty View Post
Watching the first round ofthe SOlis fight was actually something that almost convinced me when I thought that Vitali would be the worst matchup for Haye, watching what Solis was able to pull off let me see something, he is slowing down, and he is having a hard time seeing those counter right hands. Solis came in with a great strategy and was executing it well. But what I saw from Vitali was he wasn't as elusive as he used to be, maybe it has something to do with the fact he was mostly a counter puncher that could walk down fighters going backward and had power to back it up. But something about Vitali seems off right now, he got hit more in that first round then I can remember seeing in a while, just counter right counter right counter right and he kept leading and kept getting hit with it. That low left hand is coming back to bite him he doesn't pull away as fast as he used to. Watching that I'm almost convinced Haye would have an easier time beating Vitali then Wlad would. It's like when Sugar Ray Leonard saw Hagler against Mugabi and said he could beat Hagler by what he saw. By what I saw out of Vitali in just that short period of time, I think Haye can beat him. Vitali is slowing down considerably, and maybe it was just that fight but the gap between how he looked two fights ago, to last week is so big, that it makes me wonder if Haye fought Vitali what would happen, Vitali has an iron jaw but even he wouldn't take those straight counter right hands from Haye all night. So who knows but Vitali is vulnerable right now.
I agree Vitali is easier than Wlad, at this point. I felt the same when watching Vitali vs Solis. Solis had a great gameplan, had the skills, but definitely not the physical condition to be succesful at it. From Vitali's latest fights you can also see he is not bending those knees anymore and is losing his punching power as he is getting older (something that is happening with David Tua). But again, he would be a tough fight for Haye, because Haye himself is NOT that technical to outbox a durable Vitali for 12 rounds. Puts that left hand low unneccesary all the time, he is there to be hit after every right hand he throws, and squares up when moving side to side. He is explosive and got power but Vitali on the other hand has shown he can take a punch.