By Mark Vester
Sportinglife approached several boxing experts to get their opinions and predictions on Saturday's bout between WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev and challenger David Haye. Among them were trainer Emanuel Steward, Ricky Hatton, promoter Frank Warren, prospect James DeGale and several others.
Emanuel Steward, legendary trainer and current coach of IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko: "I may be wrong, but I favour David because of the speed. He is a very, very talented fighter and when we were preparing for him to fight Wladimir I was very much amazed that he has improved so much. He is a very smart fighter, he can outbox him."
Ricky Hatton: "David packs a lot of power and I think he can do to Valuev what no-one else has done and knock him out in sensational fashion."
James DeGale, 2008 Olympic middleweight gold medalist: "As time has gone on I fancy his chances less and less. Valuev is humongous! If he doesn't knock him out in six I can't see it. He's not going to get a decision in Germany, is he?"
Danny Williams: "I see David Haye outboxing Valuev. He's got great footwork, he's got that cruiserweight speed and he hits pretty hard as well. That combination makes for a David Haye victory, I think."
Frank Warren: "An old Evander Holyfield gave Valuev a lot of problems and a lot of people thought he won the fight. Holyfield has got a good chin though and David Haye hasn't, in my opinion. I don't think he's got great stamina either. He's got to win that fight by boxing, not looking for big shots. Haye should beat him but I'm not a big fan of David Haye either. I've got to lean towards Valuev."
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
