By Thomas Gerbasi

You wouldn’t be too far off base if you suggested that Saturday’s WBA heavyweight title fight between champion Nikolai Valuev and challenger David Haye is a metaphor for the current state of boxing.

In one corner you have the seven foot tall, 36-year old Valuev, a hulking figure who is far from pleasing to watch in the ring as he lumbers forward, wins ugly and often controversially, and squeezes the life out of what once was the sport’s glamour division.

In the opposite corner stands Haye, a dynamic 29-year old with a big mouth and the punch to match, as well as the type of style and personality that can breathe life into the heavyweights once again.

But at 6 foot 3, and having never weighed in at more than 217 pounds, the former cruiserweight champion – and perhaps the future of boxing – faces a (literally) tall order in the seven foot, 310 pounder, the resident keeper of the status quo.

We can hope though. We can look at Haye and see a fighter who has the speed, athleticism, and power to succeed where only one other heavyweight – Ruslan Chagaev – has when it comes to beating Valuev and having the win stick. Others, like Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz, and Larry Donald, haven’t been so lucky, but the Londoner does take solace in knowing that the fighters that have given Valuev the most trouble haven’t been the giants of the division and that he has always fought his best against fighters who had a height advantage over him, such as 6 foot 4 Enzo Macarinelli (TKO2) and 6 foot 5 ½ Alexander Gurov (KO1).

“I never lost to anyone taller than me as an amateur or professional,” Haye told BoxingScene.com. “I’ve never had problems with taller guys and I’ve always felt comfortable punching a little bit higher than myself. The guys that gave me trouble in my amateur career and a lot in my pro career were guys like Jean-Marc Mormeck and Giacobbe Fragomeni, the current WBC (cruiserweight) champion. They had such tight defenses and tried to get underneath my punches, and that’s the sort of style in the past that I’ve felt uncomfortable with in a fighting situation. Of course, I’m putting myself in a different situation now that a lot of people have found themselves uncomfortable with, fighting a guy nearly a foot taller than myself.”

To compensate in the gym and prepare for what will certainly be the most unique physical challenge of his career, Haye has enlisted 7 foot 1 Detroit journeyman Julius Long for sparring, but he admits that even with Long in camp, there’s only so much you can do to get ready for a fighter like Valuev.

“It’s very difficult and you can only do so much,” said Haye. “I tried to get guys as big as possible, but very few of them come 7 foot 2. (Laughs) The tallest sparring partner I’ve had is Julius Long. He’s a pretty tall lad and he was good work for sparring. At first it was quite uncomfortable and difficult to make up the ground because his arms are so long, but over the weeks, my range and timing got adapted to punching up against a lot taller than myself, so the sparring did exactly what I hoped it would, and made it a natural thing to be fighting such a big guy.”

It may also be good practice for the next phase of ‘The Hayemaker’s career, should he get by Valuev and make a run at the other two heavyweight beltholders, IBF / WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko, and his brother, WBC champ Vitali.

In fact, Haye’s first shot at a heavyweight title after jumping to the division in 2008 with a fifth round stoppage of Monte Barrett was supposed to be against Wladimir Klitschko in June, but a back injury forced Haye to withdraw from the highly-anticipated bout, one that sold upwards of 60,000 tickets at Schalke’s soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. But given the pre-fight barbs Haye directed at the Klitschko brothers, when the fight was called off, the Brit thought that his ship had sailed when it came to heavyweight title shots.

“I didn’t know where my next title shot was gonna be,” he said. “It’s everybody’s dream to challenge for the heavyweight championship of the world and I had my opportunity, and a lot of writers were saying that I blew my chance and that I’d have to get to the back of the line. And it really hurt me. Physically, I was in a bad way, and mentally also, thinking that I may never get a shot.”

Strangely enough, negotiations then began for Haye to fight Wladimir’s big brother Vitali in September, and then just when it seemed like the fight was a done deal, the announcement was made that Haye’s title shot would come against the one champion not named Klitschko – Nikolai Valuev.

“When it came time to negotiate with Vitali Klitschko, they didn’t seem to be making sense in terms of the negotiations we were having,” said Haye. “And while they were playing hardball with me, telling me that they had all the cards and that I had no other options and to take it or leave it, out of left field we got Nikolai Valuev’s people, and Wilfried Sauerland said ‘would you be interested in a fight?” When it first happened, we thought maybe these guys were just coming in to mess up the negotiations with the Klitschkos, but all it took was two days of negotiating and the contract was signed for the fight. We got pretty much everything we wanted – we wanted a fair deal and they were willing to give us a fair deal, so it was a complete no-brainer to make the fight happen.”

Especially since going back to the negotiating table with Team Klitschko while wearing a championship belt will even things out considerably when it comes to the nuts and bolts of making a unification bout. Throw in Haye’s marketability, a little Golden Boy Promotions muscle, and the fact that HBO wouldn’t even televise Wladimir Klitschko vs Haye’s replacement – Chagaev – and you can be assured that the 29-year old won’t have to sign over his first born to get a fight against one or both of the game’s premier heavyweights.

“I’m not coming as a challenger then,” said Haye. “Before they were telling me I bring nothing to the table, asking what have I ever done in the heavyweight division, and giving me a load of reasons why they didn’t feel that I deserved a title shot. Then they sold 60,000 tickets for the fight off the back of me, but after I was injured HBO pulled out of screening the fight between Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev and English TV pulled out as well. So the Klitschkos were left with some egg on their face.”

Sounds like the grudge match is already starting to heat up, but Haye has some very important business to take care of first, and that’s beating Valuev. And it won’t be easy, not just from a physical and stylistic standpoint, but also considering that the fight is going to be taking place in Germany, a fistic home away from home for Russia’s Valuev, who has fought there 16 times since 2003.

“The judges aren’t going to do me any favors, and I think everybody knows that, so I’m gonna need to beat him real bad,” said Haye. “I can’t just steal a round; I’ve got to really close the show in every round for the judges.”

Even Haye’s usual ‘Art of War’ techniques seem to have fallen on deaf ears when it comes to Valuev, though he hopes some late week verbal jabs will serve their purpose on fight night.

“I hope so,” laughs Haye. “He’s made a few comments about me – he called me an idiot and doesn’t seem too impressed with me, saying I don’t behave and don’t conduct myself like a professional athlete, blah, blah, blah. So I think I’ve gotten under his skin, and hopefully that goes into his gameplan because the more furious he is with me, the more he wants to punish me. I’m a great counterpuncher, and I’m sure he’ll give me plenty of his big head to hit when the first bell rings.”

That’s as far as Haye will go when it comes to trash talking Valuev though, and that’s a good thing because it’s obvious that he’s taking his first shot at a world heavyweight title seriously, and not looking past the seven footer in the other corner. So is it safe to assume that with 23 pro fights under his belt and being just shy of his 30th birthday, David Haye has found the maturity necessary to take him to the next level of his career while rescuing the heavyweight division at the same time? We’ll find out for sure on Saturday, but right now, the signs point to yes.

“All I think about is the fight itself – what he’s gonna do and how I’m gonna counter what he’s gonna do,” said Haye when asked about life after November 7th. “You can’t think too far into the future. You’ve got to focus a hundred percent on the fight. I’m in a good place mentally and physically, and I believe I’m gonna shock the world. Nicolai Valuev is a very effective champion, he’s been around for a while, and he’s not easy to beat – people have tried, people have failed, and not only do you have to beat him, but it appears that you have to beat the judges and the referee as well. So it’s a tall order – 7 foot tall – but I’ll find a way to win. It’s time for me to go out there and prove to the world that I am the best. And on November 7th I get the opportunity to start that off and say that not only am I a contender but that I’m a world champion and I’m gonna unify and fight the best possible fighters out there.”