By Mark Vester
Heavyweight contender David Haye says that he is not losing any sleep ahead of his fight with WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev on Saturday. Haye doesn't think Valuev is much to fear, even with his 7'2 frame and 320-pound body. He felt a "past his prime" Evander Holyfield easily beat Valuev last year, and he wasn't impressed by Valuev's fight with John Ruiz. Valuev barely beat Ruiz out, and Roy Jones Jr. several years ago jumped up from light heavyweight and dominated Ruiz.
“In his last fight I thought that Evander Holyfield beat him easily,” Haye insisted to The Times Online. “For a 46-year-old to be able to run rings around him and set traps for him doesn’t say a lot for Valuev’s credentials. The guy is a novelty, a physical freak, and is not to be taken seriously. This is a guy who couldn’t beat John Ruiz convincingly, something which Roy Jones — a light-heavyweight — did easily. Believe me, I’m not losing any sleep.”
Haye is predicting a knockout. Valuev has never been dropped or hurt. Few believe he can pull off a KO win. His manager/trainer Adam Booth says that his fighter is very capable of pulling off the KO.
“David won’t be overawed by the occasion nor by Valuev’s size, and his speed will be the key,” says Adam Booth. “No question that David punches hard enough — he showed that when he stopped Monte Barrett in five rounds last November and Tomasz Bonin in the first round in 2007.”
“David lost his discipline against Barrett. That was not the way we had planned for him to fight, though it was exciting for the crowd and that’s what people love to see, a toe-to-toe slugfest, especially with heavyweights. In this fight David will be much more disciplined and his speed and Valuev’s lack of finesse will wear down the giant in incremental steps.”
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