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Good, honest interview from David Haye
A decent interview with Haye discussing the upcoming fights for himself and the other Broitish fighters. Refreshing to hear a little more honesty from Haye instead of all that brash over the top bollox he usually comes out with...
Boxing: Haye - 'I won't be last man standing'
David Haye admits he and Amir Khan have suspect chins but says they can both still rule the world
By Alan Hubbard, Boxing Correspondent
Never mind the credit crunch, it's a creditable punch that British boxing needs right now. With Amir Khan's immediate world-title hopes shattered by an unknown Colombian, and Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton – for so long the kings of the British ring – possibly heading towards their last rounds, a fortnight in November could deter-mine the future shape of the sport here.
David Haye makes his debut for Setanta as a heavyweight on 15 November, and by the end of the year he could be the last man standing. That is, if his own chin holds out against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent. The fight at London's O2 Arena is sandwiched between those of Calzaghe against Roy Jones Jnr, not so much a past master as a master of the past, in New York the week before, and Hatton against the slick-punching extrovert Paulie Malignaggi a week later. For different reasons, it could be the last time we see Calzagheand Hatton in action.
The undefeated Calzaghe maintains he is anxious not to tarnish his career by taking one fight too many and, if, as expected, he beats Jones, the probability is that he will, as he puts it, "go out in a blaze of glory".
For Hatton, the fears grow in the game that his larger-than-lifestyle is finally catching up with him, as Malignaggi could well do in Las Vegas. Which would leave the self-promoting Haye-maker as boxing's main man, a mantle he characteristic-ally is more than happy toassume. While Haye waits to see whether the unbeaten but apparently coy American JD Chapman, selected as his next opponent, can be persuaded to step into the O2 ring, he has some interesting pro's-eye-view observations on the upcoming battles in America – and the future of Khan.
He clearly has concern for his friend Hatton: "The way he lives his life out of the ring would worry me. I could not do it, but that's Ricky. You always hear stories of how out of shape he is, drinking and bingeing. Maybe it's exaggerated, I don't know. Ricky always seems to get himself up for a fight but he shouldn't underestimate Malignaggi. I remember him from his amateur days and he was a right character. He may not have a great knockout rate, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous.
"This really is a crucial fight for Ricky. I know what it's like to be on the end of a loss, it can affect you mentally, but this will be the real test to show whether Floyd Mayweather took that last bit out of him. Malignaggi throws so many different types of shots, I just hope Ricky is in shape."
Calzaghe against Jones is a difficult one to call, according to Haye. "We all know what Joe is going to bring to the table, good- quality punches, a great chin and conditioning and fantastic stamina over 12 rounds.
"Against Bernard Hopkins he showed that you need to be ring-smart, but Jones is a different type of fighter. He's not as tough as Hopkins and his best days may be behind him. I wouldn't be surprised if Joe goes out and does a job on him."
Haye insists Khan should not be written off. "You mustn't discard him because of that one defeat. He's obviously got talent; after all, he won the Olympic silvermedal as a 17-year-old. He got caught with a good shot and if he hadn't, probably the other 10 or 11 would not have landed.
"I'd say, stay behind him. He's 21 years old, for God's sake. You can't write someone off at that age. He may not have the greatest chin in the world, but then neither have I. You don't have to have a great chin to achieve great things. The whole history of boxing shows that. You just have to adapt your style around it. I know from the loss I had [against Carl Thompson]. It did the world of good for me. He should stay calm, start again and rebuild, working his way back up, I'd say 2010 will probably be his year. Next year he should just concentrate on domestic fights."
Haye added: "People say that what happened to Amir should make me a bit more cautious, but I think that it's the complete opposite. Maybe it will get them thinking that a heavyweight can do to me what the Colombian did to Amir. I hope so, because it makes it exciting. JD Chapman, who I still hope to fight, has got a big punch and he's bigger than me. He's not an old guy who is all washed up, and that's what attracted me to this fight.
"I was really gutted when he pulled out, but I still believe he can be talked back into it. He's probably holding out for a bit more money. We're obviously going to have to pay over the odds for heavyweight opponents.
"Our gameplan is still to have two more fights and then the big one against Wladimir Klitschko next year. I know as a heavyweight I can't afford to take risks. I've got to get in there, do my work and get out. I've got to punch like a whirlwind and take these guys out. A bit like Mike Tyson – he didn't go out there and take a good look at opponents, he was smaller than me and he didn't mess around."
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Originally Posted by jasoo24
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