HBO want Haye vs Wlad on July 11th

[bzkfn]

bzkfn, sure you can name a bunch of fighters that moved up in various other weight classes and went on to do well or sometimes GREAT. The list of guys who moved up to heavyweight and did anything at all is a very very short one.

Records and statistics are there to be broken though, thats how fighters make history. You should also bare in mind that the gap of moving up weight wise used to be alot bigger, and Heavyweights used to be alot better.

[El Kabong]

I just want David Haye to be an experienced fighter at heavyweight when he finally gets his shot, is that so bad? Is it bad for boxing that want Wladimir to have worthy challengers and good rivals?

David just needs 2-3 more fights and we would know a lot more about him good or bad.

[Mr140]

Rep to lyle HW divsion is far different then the others when it comes to getting the title shot not like the other division at all. I mean here is a example Evander Holyfeil top 10 hw of all time held title more then anyone and when he was the in the CW division it was a strong one. Now a guy like that who better then Haye could wish to be still did not change the fact that Holyfeild had to wait and prove him self at that weight before getting the title took him a few years to do it.

[bzkfn]

Rep to lyle HW divsion is far different then the others when it comes to getting the title shot not like the other division at all. I mean here is a example Evander Holyfeil top 10 hw of all time held title more then anyone and when he was the in the CW division it was a strong one. Now a guy like that who better then Haye could wish to be still did not change the fact that Holyfeild had to wait and prove him self at that weight before getting the title took him a few years to do it.

You're thinking of the Heavyweight division like it was 15 years ago. When Holyfield moved up, you had so many top contenders in the Heavyweight Division it was understandable that he had to wait his turn. But now, there is nobody. It is a wasteland. Since nobody is watching the division, and Haye creates excitement whenever he fights, people should want to see this fight.


Lyle, don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you that the Chagaev fight is statistically better, but the world won't talk about it. Personally I want to see it, because I think Chagaev got shafted by the Valuev camp last week.

[El Kabong]

bzkfn, I think David Haye is a good fighter and all but I think he would realistically struggle with some of today's heavyweights, it's not easy to be a heavyweight, not now and not ever. If Wladimir and Vitali were so easy to beat then someone would have beaten them by now.

[bzkfn]

bzkfn, I think David Haye is a good fighter and all but I think he would realistically struggle with some of today's heavyweights, it's not easy to be a heavyweight, not now and not ever. If Wladimir and Vitali were so easy to beat then someone would have beaten them by now.

I'm not talking about them so much, more the rest of the contenders. 15 years ago we had an era of Bowe, Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield, Moorer, Tua etc. Eddie Chambers and Sam Peter hardly can be considered in this class. Haye beating guys like this will prove little really, as Wlad and Vitali are a class above. Honestly you won't know just how good Haye is at Heavyweight until he fights them. I think thats part of the excitement.

[El Kabong]

Eddie Chambers and Sam Peter? No, they aren't good contenders anymore but as gatekeepers to the top level of the division they are decent.

[bzkfn]

Eddie Chambers and Sam Peter? No, they aren't good contenders anymore but as gatekeepers to the top level of the division they are decent.

Isn't that what they say about Barrett? According to most it didn't prove shit about his validity of going in there with Wlad. Can I ask, if Haye had gone in with Chagaev or Valuev first, would you have been critical of his credibility as a challenger to either of them? Or is your issue that Wlad is the best and he's gone directly to him?

[El Kabong]

No I would have welcomed it simply because ever since Lennox Lewis vacated that belt the title holders and contenders have been hand picked by Don King.

Look at the WBA top 10:
1. Kali Meehan
2. Taras Bidenko
3. John Ruiz
4. Kevin Johnson
5. Denis Boytsov
6. Ray Austin
7. Davarryl Williamson
8. Lamon Brewster
9. Cris Arreola
10. Carl Davis Drummond

The division might be in a state of flux, but it's not THAT bad, not bad enough for Kali Meehan to be rated #1!!!

It's not that I don't welcome Haye bringing "life" into the division, it's just that it would be better for boxing for everyone to know who Haye is (if he's the real deal) and then have him get the title shot, Chagaev and Valuev haven't really been tested vs TALENT, it would have been a great stage for Haye to prove himself and if he won the WBA belt it would make a unification bout all the sweeter

[bzkfn]

No I would have welcomed it simply because ever since Lennox Lewis vacated that belt the title holders and contenders have been hand picked by Don King.

Look at the WBA top 10:
1. Kali Meehan
2. Taras Bidenko
3. John Ruiz
4. Kevin Johnson
5. Denis Boytsov
6. Ray Austin
7. Davarryl Williamson
8. Lamon Brewster
9. Cris Arreola
10. Carl Davis Drummond

The division might be in a state of flux, but it's not THAT bad, not bad enough for Kali Meehan to be rated #1!!!

It's not that I don't welcome Haye bringing "life" into the division, it's just that it would be better for boxing for everyone to know who Haye is (if he's the real deal) and then have him get the title shot, Chagaev and Valuev haven't really been tested vs TALENT, it would have been a great stage for Haye to prove himself and if he won the WBA belt it would make a unification bout all the sweeter

Then I totally agree with that. However, you have to applaud Haye for not wanting to take the easy route, and fight the very best (although I'm sure the financial reward had something to do with it). I think now that Wlad is fighting Chagaev and then has his Povetkin mandatory, and Vitali is tied up with WBC legal matters regarding Maskaev and is then likely to fight Arreola, Haye should consider a fight with Valuev. How is Haye not ranked in the WBA top ten when he was Super-Champ at Cruiser?

[El Kabong]

Haye's ambition is great, his marketing of himself is very clever. Alex Povetkin has done virtually the same thing but hasn't gotten as much airtime as David Haye and a fight between Haye and Povetkin would be very class....I think Haye would really have a great shot at smashing through Povetkin.

Haye is not ranked in the WBA of the Heavyweight division because he's not a Don King fighter.

Don King Fighters at heavyweight (compare these to the WBA rankings): Nicolay Valuev, Kali Meehan, John Ruiz, Andrew Golota, Mike Mollo, Davaryll Williamson, Kevin McBride, Ray Austin, Sam Peter, Jameel McCline, Larry Donald, James Toney.

[bzkfn]

Haye's ambition is great, his marketing of himself is very clever. Alex Povetkin has done virtually the same thing but hasn't gotten as much airtime as David Haye and a fight between Haye and Povetkin would be very class....I think Haye would really have a great shot at smashing through Povetkin.

Haye is not ranked in the WBA of the Heavyweight division because he's not a Don King fighter.

Don King Fighters at heavyweight (compare these to the WBA rankings): Nicolay Valuev, Kali Meehan, John Ruiz, Andrew Golota, Mike Mollo, Davaryll Williamson, Kevin McBride, Ray Austin, Sam Peter, Jameel McCline, Larry Donald, James Toney.

That has nothing to do with the fact that they're Don King fighters, its just that they are clearly the cream of the crop at Heavyweight.